


Just Affectionate

by WritingEmi



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Affection, Angst, Child Neglect, Community: yj_anon_meme, Cuddling & Snuggling, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Gen, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, Neglect, Platonic Cuddling, Public Display of Affection, Team Bonding, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-28
Updated: 2017-06-28
Packaged: 2018-11-20 15:09:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 22,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11337984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WritingEmi/pseuds/WritingEmi
Summary: Wally doesn't get much affection from his parents, so he gets it from his aunt, uncle and the Garricks.  However, when all of them leave for various reasons, Wally seeks that affection from his teammates and the other mentors, much to everyone's confusion.-This is an old, old fic written for the  yj_anon_meme community.





	Just Affectionate

**Author's Note:**

> In the process of moving some of my old fics into A3O. This was written during the first season of Young Justice, so sorry for the inaccuracies!

It started out with Aunt Iris going away. Her face was bright with excitement over the prospect of going to England on her news channel’s dime. The chance to travel abroad for work was too great of an opportunity to turn down and she accepted it with open arms. Wally was genuinely happy for her and told her that he wanted a souvenir from each city she visited. Iris just hugged her nephew, smothering his face with kisses and told him that if he got too lonesome that he could always run over to England to visit her.

Wally really was happy for her. And it was an opportunity for Barry and Wally to bond on their own. Except the day after Iris left, the Flash got assigned to a mission by the Justice League. A mission in outer space. Those were always long missions and both Barry and Wally were disappointed over the fact that their man to man bonding time was going to be interrupted.

“I hate using up my vacation time for things like this, there goes our trip to Hawaii in the summer. Bats totally owes me for this,” Barry complained to Wally as he packed a few things to bring with him. Wally sat cross legged on the bed, watching as Barry move around the bedroom with super speed. “I guess you’ll have to hold down the fort for me, Kid. Call Jay if you need—” Barry paused and sighed. “Oh right, Jay and Joan are away for the next couple of months.”

“Yeah, millionth anniversary of being married trip,” Wally reminded him and waved his hand without a care. “Don’t worry about me, Uncle Barry, I’ve got Central City covered. The Rogues have nothing on me.”

Barry ruffled his hair and pulled Wally into a tight hug. “I’m not _too_ worried about you. But you’ve got Hal’s number in case something happens. Actually, I’ll leave you John Stewart’s number just in case. I’ll also leave you my spare communicator so you can get a hold of the Justice League directly. And I want you to call someone the moment you think that maybe things might be too much for you, alright? I don’t want to come back and find out that you got yourself hurt because the Rogues were giving you trouble.”

“Nothing is going to happen, Uncle Barry!”

“I know, I know, I just want to make sure that you’re taken care of,” Barry said as his hold on Wally tightened. “You’re a good boy and the best partner ever, so I know you won’t have any problems, but better be safe than sorry, right?”

Wally just rolled his eyes. Everything would be fine, he reassured his uncle. Taking care of Central City by himself was going to be a cakewalk. All by himself. Without the Flash for backup and ice cream treats after putting the bad guy away. Without Aunt Iris waiting at home with a hot dinner waiting for them no matter how late it was and warm hugs. Without weekend visits to Grandpa Jay and Grandma Joan’s house for stories from Grandpa Jay and baked goods from Grandma Joan. Yeah, Wally was going to be just fine.

Just fine.

All by himself.

\--

Going straight home after school was kind of weird. Usually Wally would go over to his aunt and uncle’s house, wait around for them to come back from work, have dinner with them and maybe wander back home. Unless it was getting too late and Aunt Iris would cross her arms and say that it’s too late for her nephew to be wandering around alone, super powers or not, and he might as well just stay the night. There was an extra room that Aunt Iris had setup as Wally’s room and gave him an open invitation to stay there whenever he wanted.

He liked those nights when he would lounge on the couch between his aunt and uncle in his pajamas as they watched TV. Aunt Iris would wrap her arms around him and cuddle him while Uncle Barry would jokingly whine that his wife was paying more attention to their nephew than to him. Other times Uncle Barry would sling a companionable arm around his shoulders and tell him stories about the Justice League and his early days as the Flash. Or sometimes Iris would prop Wally’s feet up onto her lap and rub them for him as he leaned on Uncle Barry. She always said she knew how much time a speedster spent on his feet. 

There weren’t those kinds of nights at home though.

Now he came straight home from school, did his homework and then Kid Flash ran around Central City on his own and pulled late nights making sure that the city was safe. When he got home the house was dark and quiet with no one waiting up for him. Every night Wally dug around the refrigerator for cold leftovers and in the morning his mother would grumble about the fact that she was going to use that food to make his father’s lunch. 

One day Wally got home early from patrol. He sat on the couch with his mom in the living room and his dad was in his armchair with the evening news telling Central City about the weather for the next week. Wally leaned a little against his mother and when she didn’t protest, he laid his head on her shoulder. Mary wasted little time in shoving her son away.

“Wallace, you’re a grown boy, go sit on your side of the couch,” she snapped.

Wally sulked over to the other side of the couch. He shifted around in his corner trying to get comfortable, but finding that he just _couldn’t_. It was cold without someone to cuddle up against despite the fact that he was wearing a sweatshirt and thick socks.

His movements caught his father’s attention and Rudolph let out a loud sigh from behind his newspaper. “Wallace, if you’re going to fidget all night then go up to your room, you’re distracting your mother and I.”

Wally sulked even more and left the room. But he didn’t go up to his bedroom, he went to Mount Justice instead. His parents didn’t say anything when the front door opened and closed with a slam. When he got to Mount Justice he spotted Robin and Kaldur sitting on the couch and watching TV. He sat down right between them with his shoulder brushing against Kaldur’s and his knee touching Robin’s. They didn’t complain and Wally took that as a good sign. So he shifted until his head was lying on Kaldur’s shoulder and one of his legs was draped over Robin’s lap.

Robin raised an eyebrow. “Comfy?”

“Very.” Wally nodded against Kaldur’s shoulder. Kaldur was surprisingly warm, more so than Wally would have expected and he sighed with happiness. 

The Boy Wonder rolled his eyes from under his sunglasses, but he didn’t say anything else on the topic. “So how is patrolling Central City?”

“Did you need any assistance while the Flash is away?” Kaldur asked helpfully.

Wally just smiled and he told them about how he took care of a couple of muggers the day before and he reassured them that he was fine watching over Central City on his own. He listened eagerly as Kaldur filled him in on when the next training session was and what to expect. Then Robin told him about some files that he hacked that involved the Flash’s current mission. The TV flickered on in the background, but Wally was too absorbed in the warmth of Kaldur’s body and the hand that Robin placed on his ankle to notice.

\--

Friday came around with little relief. It had almost been a week since Uncle Barry and Aunt Iris left and Wally was having a really bad day. Not only did he miss his aunt and uncle, but he had tests in his biology, math and history classes, spent most of PE as the sole target during dodge ball, got shoved against the lockers _twice_ and he was tired from staying up late responding to a house fire. So Wally returned home in low spirits.

Grabbing a bag of chips, he settled himself in the living room and turned on the TV to fill the silence of the house. After about half an hour Wally heard the front door open and he remembered his dad mentioning that he would be home early on Friday. Wally perked up and he smiled when his dad entered the living room, looking as tired as Wally felt. But Wally was eager to unload his problems and to have his dad comfort him, just like Uncle Barry and Aunt Iris would do. Uncle Barry, who would ruffle Wally’s hair and then take him to get pizza to make him feel better, or Aunt Iris, who would kiss his cheek and then bring him into the kitchen to bake cookies with her.

“Hi, Dad!” Wally chirped. “You wouldn’t believe the day I had. I had _three_ tests today and last night I was up late because there was this house fire and people were trapped—”

“Wallace,” Rudy said as he sat down in his armchair.

“—but I rescued them. Anyway, I had three tests today, one in biology, one in math and the other in history. The biology one was pretty tough, math wasn’t so bad and the history test was just long. And if tests weren’t bad enough—”

“Wallace,” Rudy’s voice rose a bit.

“—we had to play dodge ball in PE _again_. And there are these guys in the class who don’t like me so much and they’re not afraid to show it. So get this, they get their entire team to throw all of their balls at me! They’re pretty much the biggest jerks ever and then they tried to corner me after—”

“Wallace!” Rudy was on the verge of yelling and Wally went silent. “I’m too tired to deal with this right now, I’ve had a long week.”

“Oh, sorry,” Wally mumbled.

“And look at all the crumbs you left on the couch!” His father snapped when he stood up and saw the mess Wally made. “Your mother and I work very hard to keep this house clean and look at what you did! I’m going to go take a shower and that better be cleaned up when I come back.”

Wally watched as his father left the room and scrambled to clean up the crumbs. Once he finished he grabbed his backpack and headed out the door and ran towards Mount Justice without another word to his father. The computer at Mount Justice announced his presence and Megan flew down the hall to greet him with a large smile on her face. Her smile faded when she saw Wally as his eyes were suspiciously red and he was sniffling a bit.

“What’s wrong, Wally?” She asked.

“Just had a bad day,” he answered as he took off his backpack, letting it drop uselessly to the ground. “Can I have a hug?”

He didn’t have to ask twice as Megan threw her arms around him and gave him a long hug. Her embrace had more strength to it than Aunt Iris’s, but it was just as comforting and Wally couldn’t help but bury his face into Megan’s shoulder. Finally Megan untangled herself from Wally and took a step back.

“I know what will cheer you up! Let’s go to the beach. It’s too chilly to go swimming, but we can dip our feet in.”

“That sounds great! Will you be wearing your bikini?” Wally grinned.

Megan just laughed. “I’ll be right back, let me go get Conner!”

Wally rolled his eyes. Of course, it’s always about Conner. But when Superboy appeared Wally wrapped his arms around the other boy immediately. Conner must have looked confused, because he could hear Megan whispering to Conner and telling him that Wally had a bad day. Either way, Conner placed an awkward arm across Wally’s back. Wally appreciated the effort.

\--

“He’s hugging me,” Artemis observed uncomfortably, but she put her arms around Wally.

Robin just clicked his tongue. “Yeah, we can see that.”

Wally ignored both of them and gave Artemis an extra squeeze before letting her go. He had almost knocked her down when she appeared at the cave and he threw his arms around her. It only seemed fair that he give Artemis a hug too. Wally did hug Megan and Conner when first arrived at Mount Justice because he was having a bad day. Then he hugged Robin when he came over an hour later, because they were bros. And then Kaldur arrived and Wally remembered how warm and comfy Kaldur was, and he gave the team leader a hug. Red Tornado passed by and Wally decided that even androids needed hugs, so he gave one to Red Tornado. So really, not giving Artemis would be downright rude and honestly she wasn’t _that_ bad, she just wasn’t Roy. Wally rocked back on his heels and wondered where Roy was at that moment, maybe he needed a hug too.

“So are we ready to start movie night or is Wally going to give another round of hugs?” Robin asked, holding up the DVDs he brought.

Wally was about to tell Robin to just start the movie, but then he thought about Robin’s suggestion. With super speed he ran around the room and hugged everyone a second time. Then he gave his friend a wide grin and said, “Ready!”

Everyone settled down on the couch and chairs while Robin popped in the movie for the night. Wally started out sitting up on the couch, but halfway through the movie he started getting restless. Twisting around and moving about, Wally finally found a position that he liked. It just happened that his cheek was pressed against Conner’s thigh with his arms wrapped around the clone’s waist and his legs were completely draped over Artemis’s lap. Conner was tense under him, but slowly relaxed and put a hesitant hand on Wally’s head.

Artemis was a little less accepting. “Ok, now he’s using me as a footrest. Does anyone want to trade seats with me?”

She didn’t wait for anyone to volunteer and escaped from under Wally’s legs, choosing to grab a pillow and sit on the floor. Wally just stretched his legs out and with his toes poked at Robin, who had been sitting on the other side of Artemis. He kept poking until the Boy Wonder sighed, mumbling something about Wally being clingy, and slid into Artemis’s abandoned seat and placed Wally’s legs over his lap. Wally was content for the rest of the movie night.

Wally did his best not to pout once the movies had ended and Artemis and Robin announced that they both had to head home. He embraced both of them before they left and he was happy when Artemis returned his hug in a more relaxed manner. Then as an afterthought he gave everyone else another hug. It was only fair.

“Aren’t you going to go home too, Wally?” Megan asked.

He would usually go home as weekends were when he would go visit Grandpa Jay and Grandma Joan, but they were still on their trip for their anniversary. He would have to spend the rest of his weekend at home. It didn’t take long for Wally to decide and he shook his head. “Nah, I’m too tired, I think I’m going to crash here tonight.”

“As am I,” Kaldur said. The team leader paused and then reminded his friend, “Do not forget to call your parents and tell them where you are, Wally.”

Wally just nodded absently. He usually called his Aunt Iris to tell her where he was and his friends just assumed that he would step away to call his parents. He wasn’t going to bother to call his parents, but he told Kaldur, “I will.” Then he snatched Conner’s arm and started dragging him away. “Come on Conner.” 

Conner blinked and allowed himself to be led away by the speedster. “Huh? What? Where are we going?”

“To go play some videogames before bed. Hey, did I ever tell you about the first time I met Speedy and Green Arrow?” Almost as soon as they disappeared down the hall, Wally reappeared at again and looked at Megan and Kaldur expectantly. “Well, are you two coming?” Then he disappeared again.

Kaldur and Megan exchanged looks. Megan gave Kaldur a half smile and shrugged.

“He had a bad day,” she explained.

\--

Wally was in the living room at Mount Justice doing his homework with Megan and Conner. They were all on the floor, their notes and textbooks spread out. Megan and Conner were working on a chemistry assignment together and Wally was reading a book for his English class. He laid his head in Megan’s lap and was stretched out on the floor, looking away from his book to answer questions or to just watch his friends work on their assignments.

The computer announced Kaldur’s arrival and he found the trio working quietly. “Wally, have you been here all weekend?” 

“No,” Wally answered defensively, even though it was Sunday afternoon and he spent both Friday and Saturday night at Mount Justice and Kaldur had left promptly Saturday morning. “I had to go home for patrol.”

“And Wally _had_ to come back here.” Megan frowned and gestured to the brace on Wally’s left wrist. “He got hurt yesterday and I insisted that he spend the night for observation.”

That was kind of true, but it wasn’t like Megan had to really persuade him to stay. Megan and Conner had expressed their concern over his wrist and his other minor injuries and Megan had wondered out loud if it would be better if Wally just stayed the night. He agreed right away.

“What happened?” Kaldur demanded and moved to inspect the brace, cradling Wally’s injured wrist in his hands.

“I fractured it fighting with the Trickster, but James didn’t really mean to do it he’s just off his meds right now. It should be ok in a day or two.” Wally got up and flexed his fingers, wincing a bit at the pain.

Kaldur frowned at him and Wally felt bad for making his friend upset, so he pulled Kaldur into an embrace and held the team leader tightly until the computer told them that Robin was there. Wally gave Kaldur one last squeeze before moving onto Robin and hugged him in welcome him. The Boy Wonder managed to squirm out of his grip and dramatically gasped for breath.

“Jeez, KF, try not to suffocate me next time.”

“Sorry.” Wally had the decency to look guilty, but it didn’t stop him from giving Robin another hug as an apology. Then he slung his arm around the other boy’s shoulders and said, “Hey, I told Megan I’d make dinner tonight. You should stay for dinner.” He then turned to Kaldur and hooked his free arm with the older teen, being cautious of his hurt wrist. “You too, Kaldur.”

The team leader nodded. “Very well, I will stay.”

But Robin shook his head. “I’d like to, but I just came back to grab something from my room.”

“It’s going to be so good,” Wally continued. “I don’t like to brag, but I make the _best_ spaghetti sauce ever. Aunt Iris taught me how to make it.”

“KF, I—”

“You should _stay_.”

Robin gave his friend a defeated smile. “Let me call Batman and tell him.”

“Dude! You should totally tell Batman to come!”

“Don’t push your luck.”

Once Robin finished talking to his mentor he found that Wally snatched up his hand in his own and started leading him and Kaldur into the kitchen. “I need some help with the chopping,” Wally explained. “Hey, so what did you two do all weekend?”

They let themselves be dragged away and helped Wally, who never once stopped talking or asking questions until they sat down to eat. At the table Wally sat quietly and beamed at all the compliments he got for his spaghetti sauce. After eating dinner Wally lingered around the cave for another hour before finally going home for the first time since Friday. He came back early enough to find his parents still awake, his mother was flipping through a magazine and his father was watching TV.

“Hello, Wallace,” Mary greeted as she briefly glanced at him. “How are the Garricks?”

“I didn’t see them, they’re out of town.” Wally _knows_ he told his parents about this.

“Oh, then how are Barry and Iris?”

“They’re also out of town.”

“Oh, that’s right.” Mary nodded absently.

“A mission then?” His father asked.

Wally sighed. “I was with the team all weekend, plus patrol.”

“Well, good to see that you’re unhurt,” Rudy said, his eyes never leaving the TV screen.

Wally looked down at the brace on his wrist. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

\--

“And then Rob came and he was like ‘Hey Kid Lonesome, I came to help you babysit Central,’ and I was like ‘Like I need the help, but I guess I can bring you along, maybe you’ll learn something.’ And then Rob was all like—”

“You’re rather talkative today,” Mary West interrupted with a bit of annoyance to her voice as she chopped up some vegetables for dinner.

Wally stopped mid-sentence, his hands suspended in the air as he tried to reenact the scene for his mother. It was going to be an exciting story. After their pre-patrol bickering, he and Robin took down Captain Cold by themselves, with a _brief_ cameo by Hal Jordan that was barely worth mentioning in the larger scheme of things. But he knew that look on his mother’s face and he knew that her patience was wearing thin with him. So instead Wally grabbed his backpack and pulled out his latest biology test.

“Look!” Wally shoved the test towards his mom’s face. “I got over a hundred percent, because I got everything right and all the extra credit questions! The teacher said that no one else did as well as I did and she said that I should—”

Mary glanced at the test and then gave her son a stern look. “Did you cheat?”

Wally’s eyes went wide and his arm fell to his side, moving his precious test away from his mother. “Wh-What?”

“Did you cheat? I know it must be tempting with your powers to do things the easy way, but you have to _earn_ things in life, Wallace.” There was an edge to her tone that told him that she wasn’t pleased with his grade.

The test crumpled in his hand and he just mumbled, “I didn’t cheat.”

Mary wasn’t paying attention though and just said, “The next time you cheat I’m going to tell your father.”

Wally shoved his test back into his bag and slung it over his shoulder. “I have to go to training.” 

His mother didn’t reply and Wally left for Mount Justice. It had been a couple of days since he was last at Mount Justice and it was beginning to get to him. He rather restless at home and it was too quiet. Whenever he tried to fill that silence he was met with discouragement and annoyance. And Wally thought it was natural that he didn’t really want hang out at home, he was a teenager so it was normal that he wanted to be around his friends. 

Wally quickly found Megan when he got to the cave and he showed her his biology test. The Martian beamed brightly at him and took the crumpled paper, smoothing it out on the kitchen counter. “That’s great, Wally!” Her smile was wide and joyful. “I believe the Earth custom is to put good grades on the refrigerator, right?”

Wally nodded and she stuck the test under the Flash magnet on the refrigerator. Aunt Iris always put his tests up on display with pride. He grinned and asked, “Can I get an ‘I got a good grade’ hug?”

Megan’s smile got larger and said, “Of course!” She gave him a quick squeeze and pulled back, looking at the wrinkled test on the refrigerator. “I like that your teacher even put a smiley face on your test,” Megan observed. “Your parents must be proud.”

“Yeah, they are.” He didn’t tell her that his mother thought he cheated. He reached out and put his arm around Megan’s shoulders. “You know, my biology teacher said that I should seriously consider majoring in biology or chemistry when I go to college, she says I’m one of the best students she’s had in a long time.”

“That’s great, Wally!” Megan said excitedly. “I didn’t know you were so smart.”

“Well, I have my moments,” Wally smiled sheepishly.

When he saw Conner Wally took him over to where his test was and showed Superboy his grade. Superboy froze and stood stiffly as Wally gave him a hug and the speedster explained to Conner that he’s supposed to give hugs for good grades. Conner relented and returned the embrace. Later Wally noticed Red Tornado coming through the cave and into the kitchen, pausing at the sight of his test. Wally stood off to the side, almost holding his breath in anticipation. 

The android approached the speedster and placed his heavy hand on Wally’s head, patting his head a couple of times before turning and leaving.

Wally felt like he was going to burst with pride.

\--

Kid Flash hated to admit it, but watching over Central City by himself was tiring. At first it was a thrill, it was a little taste of what it’s like to be the Flash. But going on patrol every night was wearing down on Kid Flash as he had other responsibilities like school, homework and his team. He didn’t know how his uncle did this by himself plus work, the Justice League, training Kid Flash and taking care of his family. 

Sitting on the rooftop of the Central City police station after helping to bring in a couple robbers, Kid Flash opened up the cupboard in his glove and frowned when he found it empty. Aunt Iris was usually the person who filled his secret compartment with snacks to make sure he was taken care of while on missions and patrol. Wally’s mother had forgotten to pick up energy bars for him at the grocery store that afternoon. It was ok though, because she usually wasn’t the one responsible for providing Kid Flash with snacks and Wally himself forgot to buy something before going out. He snapped closed the cupboard as his stomach growled loudly in protest.

“Looks like you could use a snack, Hotshot.”

Kid Flash looked up and saw John Stewart beside him, holding a bag of deliciously greasy foods and a large soda. Green Lantern held the food out to the teen and was surprised when Kid Flash gave him a hug before even glancing at the food. And then the bag of food and the soda disappeared from John’s hands and Kid Flash returned to his seat and started stuffing his face.

“Thanks, Uncle John!” Kid Flash said after he finished his snack. “What are you doing in Central City?”

“Just came to check up on you. Hal said you were looking a little tired when he saw you the other day. We were thinking about helping you take care of the city and give you a bit of a break. How does that sound?”

Wally clenched his hands to still them as a faint tremble of worry ran through him and he looked away from Green Lantern. Despite Green Lantern’s kind tone, John’s words cut deeply into him. Did he perform poorly when Uncle Hal helped him and Robin take down Captain Cold? Did Uncle John and Uncle Hal think that he couldn’t protect Central City on his own? Did they think that he was a bad replacement for the Flash? Would they tell the Flash how disappointed they were in him? Kid Flash struggled to blink back tears. He was trying his best, he really was. But now it seemed like his best wasn’t good enough, not for Central City. Wally was never good enough.

His tears and frown didn’t escape John’s attention and he laid his hand on Kid Flash’s shoulder and sat down next to him. “Wally,” John said firmly and kindly, “you’re doing a good job, a _great_ job, but sometimes heroes need a little help. Did you know that when Barry first started out as the Flash he was always asking for help?”

Wally sniffled loudly and wiped at his eyes. “Really?”

“ _All_ the time,” John answered with a roll of his eyes. “Barry pretty much had our numbers on speed dial and Jay’s. Look, what I’m trying to say is that Hal and I want to help you out because we used to help out Barry too. And back then Barry wasn’t a part of a team or had to deal with high school like you do. So let us watch over Central City for part of the week and you concentrate on school and your team, ok?”

“I can do it on my own.”

“I know, but we want to help. Do you think we want to be stuck up in the Watchtower with Batman and Superman bickering like an old married couple all the time?”

Kid Flash smiled a little at John’s attempt at humor. “Ok, but I need to tell you about the Rogues so you know what to expect.”

“Alright, Kid, debrief me,” John said with all the seriousness in the world, his military background and Green Lantern training shining through.

And right away Kid Flash listed off all of the Rogues and their strengths and weaknesses. Eventually Kid Flash started detailing to Green Lantern his most recent fights with the Trickster and Captain Cold until the late hours of the night. Wally leaned against Green Lantern and his head lulled onto the older man’s shoulder as he let out a giant yawn in the middle of his story. 

“Come on, Hotshot, let’s get you home. It’s late and I’m sure your parents are worried sick about you right now.” John smiled and picked up the speedster, flying them in the direction of Wally’s house. Green Lantern knew he didn’t have to take Wally home, but Iris always appreciated the gesture as she would stay up late waiting for her nephew to come home or fall asleep on the couch trying.

But as he landed in the backyard, he noticed that the West household was dark and silent. It was _late_ though.

“Hey Uncle John, am I really doing a good job?” Wally asked as he unlocked the backdoor.

“Yeah, Kid, you really are. Barry’s going to be so proud, I know I am.” John ruffled the teen’s hair as Wally’s grin lit up his face. “And don’t worry about Central City tomorrow, I’ve got it covered.”

“You don’t have to start tomorrow,” Wally insisted. “It’s not like I have anything to do tomorrow evening anyway.”

“But you need a break and anyone with two eyes can tell that you’re exhausted. Why don’t you spend time with that team of yours? Some extra training never hurt anyone.”

Wally nodded absently. He wasn’t keen on the idea of extra training, but he did like the thought of spending more time at Mount Justice. He threw his arms around Green Lantern. “Thanks, Uncle John.”

John wrapped his arms around Wally. “Don’t mention it, Kid.”

\--

Wally took John’s advice to heart. Right after school he ran to Mount Justice without bothering to stop at home and found that Megan and Conner weren’t home from school yet. He remembered that Megan had cheerleading practice and Conner usually stayed after school with her. At first Wally pouted and threw himself down on the couch dramatically with an unexplainable frustration building up in his chest. Finally getting up and wandering around the halls of Mount Justice as he moped, Wally thought about going to the school to sit on the bleachers with Conner. But then he found the door to Kaldur’s room open and Kaldur was sitting on his bed quietly reading a book. 

The older teen looked up and saw Wally standing in the doorway. “Hello, Wally. Is there something I can do for you?”

Wally shrugged. “Can I study in here with you? No one else is around, so …”

“Of course.” 

Kaldur motioned for Wally to come in and his eyes widen when Wally crawled onto the bed with him instead of taking the seat at the desk. Wally sat right next to him, pressing their sides together and opened up his history book to read. Kaldur relaxed after a moment, but soon Wally was wiggling around again and slouched down a bit so his head was resting on the team leader. The older teen lifted a curious eyebrow, but didn’t say anything.

They read in silence for a whole thirty seconds before Wally opened his mouth. “So there’s this really cute girl in my math class named Linda Park.”

Kaldur put his book down and listened politely.

“And she’s really nice and everything. So I thought I’d ask her out earlier this week, because I mean that’s what you’re supposed to do with cute, nice girls. But she said no, because she has a crush on _Kid Flash_ and she said that I wasn’t a thing like him and she said she only likes mature, manly guys like Kid Flash. Can you believe that!?”

Kaldur couldn’t help but chuckle at Wally’s story.

Wally pouted. “I’m totally mature and manly! And then get this, Linda said that she’s already going out with someone already. How can she claim to like Kid Flash and not like me? Sometimes I don’t understand girls at all.”

“Neither do I, my friend.” Kaldur smiled sadly and he was immediately engulfed in Wally’s embrace.

“Aw, Kaldur, it’s ok. Maybe we’re too deep for girls to really get us, right? Right.” Wally didn’t let go of the older teen as he continued to talk about his week so far. “Yesterday I got my history test back, it was an A minus, I didn’t do as good as I wanted, but it’s not bad, right?” Kaldur nodded silently, but that didn’t satisfy Wally. “Right, Kaldur? It’s good, right? It’s not a bad grade, right?”

“It’s a good grade, Wally,” he reassured the speedster. 

Wally smiled brightly and continued to talk until Artemis appeared in the doorway. She grinned widely at the sight of Wally half in Kaldur’s lap with his arms wrapped around the team leader, babbling on about going on patrol the night before. She tilted her head to the side and her eyes had a teasing glint.

“Well, don’t you two make a pretty couple? I wish I had a camera to cherish this moment forever.”

She caught both boys’ attention. While Kaldur blushed, Wally was unfazed and quickly ran up to Artemis, startling her. She thought he was going to mess with her, but instead he grabbed her wrist and dragged her over to the bed, making her sit down. Wally didn’t let go of her as he settled back down next to Kaldur and he didn’t seem to have heard a word Artemis said. 

“So I was just telling Kaldur that last night I caught two robbers, but you know what? They called me Flash Boy! Why is Kid Flash so hard to remember? At least they didn’t call me Speedy this time! Do people ever get your names mixed up? Kaldur, does anyone call you Aquaboy? No, because that sounds stupid and you’re too cool for that. What about you, Artemis? Though what else would people call you beside Artemis? Arty, maybe? Hey, I kind of like that. Arty, Arty, Arty.”

“Don’t you _dare_ say that again, Flash Kid,” Artemis growled sharply. “I will _end_ you.”

But her threat seemed to have the opposite effect that she wanted. Instead of Wally arguing with her and testing her patience, the speedster’s shoulders slumped and looked away from her while frowning. He let go of her wrist and leaned away from Kaldur as he drew his knees up to his chest.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean anything by it,” Wally mumbled miserably and blinked suspiciously bright eyes.

Artemis gave Kaldur a helpless look, not understanding Wally’s sudden change in mood. Kaldur’s gaze was pleading and Artemis scooted closer to Wally, hesitantly putting an arm around his shoulders. “I was just teasing, Wally, I promise. I’m not mad at you.”

And just like that Wally grinned at her, the suspicious brightness in his eyes was gone and Wally’s fingers are entangled with hers and his free arm is hooked with Kaldur’s as he told them about his day at school. There was a small frown on Kaldur’s lips and Artemis did her best to keep her concern away from her face.

When Megan and Conner finally came home, Artemis was able to untangle herself from Wally and went to go greet her other friends. Wally moved to follow her, but Kaldur caught his shoulder and asked, “Are you ok, Wally?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah,” Wally nodded and rubbed at his eyes. “I’m just a little tired, pulling some late nights and everything.” He noticed Kaldur’s worried expression. “Don’t worry, the Green Lanterns said they’d help out. Not that I can’t handle Central City by myself, but John Stewart said that they wanted something to do, so I’m really doing them a favor by letting them help. The super villains must be on vacation or something.”

“Good, I am glad to hear it.” Kaldur smiled with relief and he figured everything would be ok once Wally got some proper rest.

\--

Friday came around again and Wally was in much better spirits than the week before. On Thursday night he received a message from the Flash that everything was going well with his mission and he talked to his Aunt Iris on the phone in the morning. She sounded so excited about her experience that her happiness bled into Wally. And then Wally had a pretty good day at school, or at least as good as it could get. After school Wally stopped at home and grabbed a few things he’d need for the weekend and prepared to leave. Just as he was about to head out the door, his mother called out his name and stopped him.

“Are you going to spend the weekend with Barry and Iris?” Mary asked as she sat at the kitchen table, looking over the bills.

“No, I told you that they’re gone,” Wally answered.

“No, you didn’t.” She was beginning to sound a little annoyed.

“Yes, I did. We’ve had this conversation twice.”

Mary paused. “Oh, right. I remember now. I’m just so busy at work and at home that I can’t remember everything you tell me.”

Wally rolled his eyes. “I know.”

“Well, have fun. Where are you going again?”

“Mount Justice, I’ll probably be there all weekend.”

“Ok. Well, at least it’ll be quiet around here.” Mary sighed and looked at the increase in her recent grocery expenses, Barry and Iris usually fed Wally most of the week. “And I won’t have to feed you this weekend.”

Wally flinched. “Yeah, whatever. Bye, Mom.”

Mary nodded absentmindedly and hummed, “Mm-hm.” She didn’t look up from her bill when Wally left.

When Wally got to Mount Justice, he froze as a familiar voice carried through the cave. Dropping all of his stuff, Wally ran to the source of the voice. In the kitchen Red Arrow was talking to Robin and stopped midsentence as he heard the sound of someone moving towards him and a long chant of, “Roy, Roy, Roy, Roy, Roy, _Roy_!”

Roy didn’t have much of a chance to move out of the way before he was tackled by Wally. Robin managed to jump onto the counter, but Roy was lost to long, clingy limbs. The older teen’s vision was filled with bright red hair and an overly excited voice rung in his ears as Wally’s body collided with his own and toppled them over. Robin laughed madly from his perch on the counter, especially when Wally refused to let Roy up and attacked him with a million questions.

“Roy! Are you here to join the team? Are you on a mission? What have you been up to? Can I borrow your suit? How long are you going to stay? Did you see my test on the refrigerator?”

“Wally.” Roy placed his hands against Wally’s chest and scowled at him. “Get off of me.”

Wally got to his feet and pulled Roy up with him. Once Roy was upright, Wally hugged him fiercely. He’s been hugging all of his teammates a lot for the last couple of weeks and now he had to catch up with his hugs for Roy. He tucked his head under Roy’s chin and refused to let go, even when Roy tried to get out of his grip.

“I’m not here to stay,” Roy told him. “I just needed Robin to hack something for me and I was about leave.”

“You should stay here this weekend and get to know the team and you can stay in my room! We’ll all watch movies, go to Happy Harbor, eat pizza, spar, it’ll be great!”

“Not a chance in hell.”

“But I haven’t seen you in _forever_ ,” Wally whined and he tightened his hold on Roy. “You never come to visit, it’s like you don’t want to see me.”

“Wally …”

The speedster let go of Roy and turned away from the archer. “Fine, whatever. I understand.” His words were short and clipped and it was obvious that no, Wally did not understand. He didn’t understand why Roy didn’t want to spend time with him. He didn’t understand why people didn’t want him around.

“Dude, it wouldn’t kill you to get a free meal here.” Robin finally intervened.

Roy actually looked guilty. “Ok, but just for dinner.”

The archer had his arms full again when Wally threw himself at him. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

Robin shrugged when Roy gave him a questioning look over Wally’s head. “KF’s become a hug monster. It’s his new power.”

\--

“Just the toes,” Wally warned Megan as she grabbed his foot.

“I know.” But she looked longingly at his fingernails and he quickly hid them in the pocket of his sweatshirt. “What about you, Robin?” She turned her attention to the Boy Wonder. “I have some nice nail polish that will match your uniform.”

“No thanks. I’ll leave the pedicures to KF here,” Robin answered and patted Wally’s head which was lying against his shoulder. 

Wally was lying on the couch and sitting up against Robin, while his friend flipped through the TV channels, and his legs were stretched out with his feet resting in Megan’s lap. It was a quiet Friday night, Artemis and Kaldur never showed up at the cave, Conner had disappeared and Roy had left earlier, leaving Wally, Megan and Robin to their own devices. Megan was bored, so she tried to coax Wally and Robin to let her do their nails. Robin had laughed and refused. Wally gave in quickly. 

He wasn’t terribly fond of the bright orange that was being applied to his toenails, but he liked Megan’s gentle touch and her attention. She nodded and carefully painted the speedster’s nails as Wally told her about a project he was working on for his chemistry class. As Wally talked about his chemistry project, he thought about his uncle, who would normally help him with such a project, but was instead off on a mission that he didn’t know anything about.

Megan looked up when Wally stopped talking and saw that his face was half buried in Robin’s shoulder. “Wally? Are you ok?”

“Yeah, it’s just been a long day. Don’t worry about me, beautiful.” Wally smiled at her, but his thoughts were off elsewhere. Robin quietly put his arm around Wally and Megan smiled back at him and squeezed his ankle, then moved onto the other foot. 

That night Wally sat up in his bed, unable to sleep, and looked over his notes outlining his project. He would normally make an outline with his uncle and Uncle Barry would lay a hand on his shoulder as he gave Wally advice. Sometimes they’d go to Grandpa Jay’s house for new ideas or another opinion. And Grandma Joan would always make them snacks and kiss Wally on the cheek, calling him her little scientist.

The other morning Wally had quizzed his dad about what he knew about chemistry during breakfast, hoping that he’d be able to help. But his father didn’t appreciate it very much and quickly got fed up with Wally’s questions.

“Wallace,” his father had said to him, “I don’t get anything that you’re saying. Are you _trying_ to make me feel stupid?”

Wally had shrunk into his seat with a, “No, sir.” And he didn’t say anything for the rest of breakfast.

A loud growl from his stomach interrupted his thoughts and told Wally that it was time for his midnight snack. He tucked his notebook under his arm, leaving his room to go to the kitchen. At the end of the hall he heard hushed voices and recognized them immediately. Batman and Robin. He didn’t make his presence known so he wouldn’t interrupt them, but whatever conversation he was hearing was coming to an end. Wally peeked out from the hallway to see Batman affectionately ruffle Robin’s hair with a small smirk that Robin returned as he took a disk from Batman. Robin headed back deeper into the cave, probably to work on whatever Batman had given him.

Wally couldn’t stop the terrible sense envy bubbling up in him.

Once Robin disappeared, Batman tipped his head towards where Wally was hiding and said, “Is there a reason why you’re eavesdropping, Kid Flash?”

Wally squeaked in a mixture of surprise and fear. He stepped out of his hiding place and tried to look as innocent as possible. “No! No! Just getting something to eat! I swear!”

Batman didn’t reply, but his gaze took notice of brightly painted toenails.

Wally flushed with embarrassment and he wished he had put on some socks. “Um, that was Megan.”

Batman’s lips twitched upward before setting back into a firm line.

“Uh, actually, I was wondering if you could look over something for me.” Wally couldn’t believe he had just said that, but he couldn’t stop himself. “I have this chemistry project for school coming up and I’m kind of stuck right now …”

Batman stared.

“And um, Uncle Barry and Grandpa Jay usually help, but you know, they’re gone and my parents aren’t good at this kind of stuff and, uh …”

Batman continued to stare.

He lifted up his notebook to show the Dark Knight. “And I thought maybe you could look over my notes and help, since you’re Batman and you know everything …”

Wally was pretty sure Batman wasn’t even blinking.

The speedster hugged his notebook to his chest and his eyes slid down to his cheerfully painted toes. “Or not … I mean, it’s stupid and you have more important things to do … Just forget it … It’s stupid, really stupid …”

Batman held out his hand and Wally blinked dumbly at it. “Let me see.”

Wally knew he was pushing it, but he gave Batman the quickest hug he’s ever given anyone and handed his notebook to the Dark Knight. He could hardly breathe as Batman read his outline and gave him feedback. Every critique was like a stab to his heart and he had to fight to keep his eyes from watering, and every vague, borderline compliment from Batman made him beam.

When Batman closed the notebook and handed it back to him, Wally couldn’t help but ask, “Was it ok? I mean, what I had there, was it ok? Do you think I’ll do a good job? Once I’ve incorporated everything you said, do you think it’ll be ok?” He was on the verge of shaking as he waited for Batman to answer.

A hand rested on his shoulder, just like how Uncle Barry would, acting just like someone who cared about him and wanted him to do well and thought that he was smart and—

“You will do well, science has always been your strength,” Batman said. “Now get something to eat.”

Wally noticed that his hands were shaking a little and he promised that he would. Batman started to move towards the exit, but Wally attacked him from behind with another embrace, this one lasting longer than the first. He pressed his face up against the dark cape and his sped up words were muffled by the heavy fabric. 

“Thankyouforcaring.”

By the time Batman turned around, Wally was gone.

\--

_A seven year old Wally West looked around his bedroom one last time. He had everything he needed, so he wouldn’t be coming back. He’d come back to visit his parents and spend the holidays with them, but this wouldn’t be his room anymore. Taking a peek into his Flash backpack, Wally made sure he had everything he needed. He had all of his favorite toys and books, an extra shirt, a pair of pajamas, clean underwear, a bag of cookies and his piggybank. Everything he needed to start his new life. After zipping up his jacket and slipping on his mittens, Wally grabbed his Flash plushie off of his bed and tucked it under his arm._

_“Ok, Flash, we’re leaving. Don’t worry, Batman and the Green Lanterns are in my backpack, they’re coming with us.” Wally told his toy. “It’s cold outside, but you’re the Flash, I’m sure you’ll be ok.”_

_Wally quietly made his way downstairs and out the front door. No one was home, his parents had yet to come home from work, so he was mindful to lock the door behind him. Wally walked towards his school that was three blocks away, he had the route memorized from when he walked it every day. Once he got to the school he headed north, he remembered the way from the many times his Aunt Iris picked him up and drove him to her apartment in downtown Central City. Thankfully there weren’t many turns or else he might have gotten lost._

_“We’re going to live with Aunt Iris for now on,” Wally told his Flash plushie as he walked. “I’m going to be Aunt Iris’s son. Mommy and Daddy are too busy for me, but Aunt Iris always has time for me. You’ll like it there, we both will.”_

_The walk was long and the weather was cold, biting his nose, ears and cheeks, but he was cheerful and excited to start his new life. He took a break to sit on a bench and eat a couple of cookies as he told his Flash plushie about what living with Aunt Iris would be like. Finally, after almost an hour of walking, Wally made it to his aunt’s apartment. He already had a key that let him into a building and his aunt’s apartment, so it didn’t matter that she wasn’t home from work yet._

_Wally took off his backpack, jacket and mittens, and climbed up onto the couch, too tired from his walk to unpack his things yet. He snuggled with his Flash plushie and turned on the TV, but soon his eyes slid shut after watching his cartoon for a few minutes. When he opened his eyes again someone was draping a blanket over his small form. He smiled brightly when he saw that it was Aunt Iris’s nice boyfriend, Barry, and he sat up to hug the man._

_“Hey, kiddo,” Barry said softly and returned the hug. “What are you doing here?”_

_“I’m here to live with Aunt Iris. I’m gonna be her son.”_

_Barry looked thoughtful and nodded slowly. “Do your parents know where you are?”_

_Wally shook his head._

_“Ok, well, why are you here to be Iris’s son? You have your parents. Is everything ok at home?”_

_Wally shrugged._

_Barry pressed his lips together in a tight line and he furrowed his brow. “Alright, well, your parents probably aren’t home from work yet. Why don’t we wait for Iris to come home and then we’ll figure out what to do. In the meantime I’ll make you a snack and we’ll watch cartoons. How does that sound?”_

_Wally nodded in agreement. Maybe he’d let Barry live with him and Aunt Iris, Barry could be his dad._

_But his dreams of becoming Aunt Iris’s son were unfulfilled. Once Aunt Iris got home, she told him that he had to go back and made him promise her that he’d never walk all that way by himself ever again. She told him that she loved him very much and that he was always welcomed to visit whenever he wanted, hearing her say that helped to ease his tears. When she asked him why Wally came all the way to her apartment, he just shrugged._

_Before Aunt Iris took him home, Barry pulled Aunt Iris into her room to speak to her privately and he could hear their hushed voices. Wally caught fragments of their conversation._

_“… going on with your brother’s …”_

_“… nothing, he’s just being …”_

_“… sure? Are you really sure?”_

_“Barry! … fine, everything is fine … Wally’s just … Rudy and Mary are great …”_

_A small laugh. “… guess I’m just overprotective … they’re good … what a funny kid …”_

_Afterwards Barry and Aunt Iris took him home and his parents were already there, his mother was just setting the table for dinner. They didn’t know he was missing._

Wally woke up alone in his bed with a terrible ache in his chest and a horrid wave of loneliness washing over him. He quickly decided he didn’t want to lie in his room by himself anymore. Climbing out of bed with a pillow under his arm, Wally tiptoed down the hallway of Mount Justice and made his way to a familiar room. Opening the door, he moved over to the bed and nudged the warm body in it.

“Hey … Hey, Rob, can I sleep here tonight?”

The Boy Wonder barely lifted his face from his pillow, obviously confused and still in the middle of his dream. “Nah, where’re my nachos?”

“No, no nachos, Rob. Can I sleep here?”

Dick blinked slowly. “Huh? S’eep? Yeah, s’eep, jus’ don’t eat my nachos.” And his head fell back into his pillow.

That was enough for Wally and he slid into the bed, throwing an arm over his best friend. Even though he brought his own pillow, he settled his head on Robin’s pillow and his face was buried in black hair. Just as he began to drift off to sleep, a light giggle woke him up.

“Mmmm, Barbara … that tickles …” Robin giggled in his sleep.

Wally’s eyes widened as he sat up and stared down at Dick, who was no longer dreaming of nachos. He untangled himself from his friend and grabbed his pillow, heading back out into the hallway and to a different room. Conner’s bed was big enough that the larger teen didn’t even notice Wally until he woke up with a speedster attached to his arm.

\--

“This is Grandma Joan’s recipe,” Wally told Megan as he pulled the roast out of the oven. “She says Sunday dinners are very important for building bonds within a family.” Megan hummed softly in agreement and Wally continued, “I don’t know if the roast is as good as Grandma Joan’s, but it shouldn’t be too bad. Should we taste it before serving it? I don’t want it to be bad. Let’s taste it before serving it.”

He looked down at his roast and hoped that it was ok. Wally had tried to make it once for his parents, but he had gotten distracted and overcooked it. His father had only one bite before shoving away his plate. His mother made it halfway through her piece and lamented over the fact that Wally wasted so much food with his failed attempt at cooking. This time, Wally didn’t stray far from the oven and diligently watched the timer.

Wally spent the weekend at Mount Justice again and wanted to make something nice for dinner before he had to go back to Central City. He left the mountain a few times to go on patrol, but he didn’t go back home, opting instead to go back to Mount Justice and let Megan fuss over his injuries. Plus, Robin was there for most of the weekend, until he had to leave that morning, and his best friend was always willing to listen to Wally vent about school and life in general. Or at least pretend to. And Robin was more receptive to hugs and cuddling than Conner was. Though Conner was getting better and Wally was taking pride in the fact that he was getting Conner used to gestures of affection. If only he could do the same with some of the mentors, who _really_ needed more hugs in their lives. Mainly Batman …

Megan shook her head. “I’m sure it’s going to be great, it looks and smells delicious. Besides, it’s just you, me and Conner.”

Putting the hot pan on the counter, Wally frowned. “But I invited _everyone_ for dinner.”

“Everyone was busy today. And I mean, a lot of the time it’s just me, Conner and Red Tornado.”

“Oh.” Wally turned away to grab something from the refrigerator. “Doesn’t it get lonely?”

Megan stared at Wally’s back. “What?”

Wally shrugged and grabbed the salad from the refrigerator and a few sodas. “I mean, Conner is great, but he’s not one for conversations and neither is Red Tornado. Doesn’t it get lonely?”

Wally knew that he was often lonely at home, even when his parents were home. Wally remembered being young and feeling that way. Of raising his short arms towards his mom, begging to be picked up and to spend time with her, only to have her wave him off. She would tell him that she was too tired and his dad would tell him to go play quietly in another room and not to bother them. Wally would sit in his room by himself, quietly playing with his superhero toys and wishing that he had a little brother or sister. Then he’d never be alone and always have someone to play with, to hug and to talk to. He was even willing to share his room and at one point tried to trade his precious Superman action figure for the little neighbor boy’s younger brother. It almost worked too if Uncle Barry hadn’t caught him.

He didn’t want Megan to feel the same way.

The food in Wally’s hands was suddenly lifted into the air and Megan used her telekinesis to set the table. She gave him a comforting smile. “It’s not so bad, you might not know it, but Conner’s a really good listener.”

Megan wasn’t surprised when Wally hugged her and she returned it without a second thought. Out of all of his friends, Megan was the one who took Wally’s extra hugs with the most ease and warmth. She leaned her head against his and rubbed circles against his back.

“Wally, I’m not lonely, not at all. I’m actually really happy that I have so many friends on Earth and I’ve been making a lot of new friends at school too.”

“Good,” Wally whispered, his voice thick. “Good, I don’t want you to be lonely.”

Megan frowned, but she didn’t say anything about her concern.

\--

Kid Flash grunted as he hit the ground. Training was scheduled for Tuesday afternoon with Black Canary and while he had grinned widely at the prospect, he was beginning to regret his enthusiasm. Especially with his friends watching him, waiting for their turn, and adding a running commentary to his spar with their trainer. He was admittedly bothered by their teasing in a way he never felt before. Kid Flash should be used to it, because he was often the one who started the teasing, but it didn’t feel right that day.

“Ouch! And Kid Flash is down for the count!” Robin jeered from the sidelines. Kid Flash just closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm down.

“You’re getting better, Kid Flash,” Black Canary praised him and Kid Flash felt a little better.

“Getting better at hitting the floor,” Artemis muttered, and the rest of the team snickered, even Aqualad was smiling behind his hand, trying to keep a straight face.

“I’m on the ground, how is that better?” Kid Flash whined, sitting up and rubbing the back of his head. Artemis’s assessment of his abilities sounded more accurate than Black Canary’s.

Black Canary held out her hand to Kid Flash and he grasped it, letting her help him up. “You’re improving, you’re learning to fine tune your speed and to use it to a greater potential. I’m impressed.”

Wally’s face lit up as he listened to Black Canary as she told him all the things he did right. Not even Robin and Artemis’s teasing or his team’s laughter could take that away from him at the moment. His cheeks grew warm with pleasure and he thought that under her tough exterior that Black Canary was a really kind person. She was kind like Aunt Iris. But his heart sank as she began to tell him what he did wrong and all the good feelings he had were slipping through his fingers.

“But you were distracted. You need to pay more attention to your opponent,” Black Canary continued. “Your powers won’t do you any good if you’re not completely in the battle.”

“Yeah, stop staring at the teacher!” Robin called out.

Wally’s gaze fell down to his boots and he bit his lip, trying to hold his tears back. But his sniffle got Black Canary’s attention and she looked at him with worry. He felt embarrassed by his reaction, to be on the verge of crying like a child and to do so in front of his friends, his _team_. Black Canary had said harsher things before and it never hurt like this.

Black Canary reached out, her hand moving towards his shoulder. “Wally—?”

But he was gone. Not far though, because the only place he could think of going was to his room at Mount Justice. He laid face down in his bed, pulling the covers over his head and did his best to hide from the world and to silence his crying. There was a firm knock on his door and he told whoever it was to go away, however Black Canary didn’t get to where she was in her life by ‘going away’ and opened the door anyway.

“Wally?” Her voice was gentler than Wally had ever heard it before. It made him voluntarily pull back the covers from his head and look up at her. She sat down on the edge of his bed and her hand rested on his upper arm. “Wally, what’s wrong?”

In all honesty, Wally didn’t know. He couldn’t tell her why he started tearing up or why his friends’ teasing got to him when he normally just laughed at it. But Wally did know that he needed a hug and he risked being punched in the face by hugging Black Canary. She hesitated for only a second before wrapping her arms around him and pulling him close. There was something fiercely protective in the way she held him and it reminded him of the rare occasions when Roy would initiate a hug and give the kind of embrace that felt like it would never end because it was so strong. Wally wondered if Black Canary taught Roy how to hug.

“Wally, are you depressed because Barry is gone?” Black Canary asked without letting him go.

He didn’t answer, he just pressed his face into her shoulder.

She stroked red hair soothingly. “I’m sorry I didn’t realize it earlier or else I would have sent the peanut gallery packing. But don’t worry about Barry, I know he’s been gone a long time, but he’s going to be fine. He has J’onn and Wonder Woman with him and he’ll be back before you know it.”

Hearing her say that made Wally feel a little better. A little.

“Why don’t you go home and spend some time with your family? Wearing yourself out with training and hanging around here won’t bring Barry home any faster.”

This time Wally did respond. “But I’m fine here!”

“Wally,” there was a touch of warning to her tone, but it stayed kind, “I need you to take care of yourself, ok? You obviously weren’t ok during training and that’s mostly my fault—”

“No, it’s not!”

“—but I really think you’d benefit from going home for a bit, you always seem happier after you spend time with your family.” Black Canary smiled softly at Wally’s pout. “This isn’t punishment, this is just some downtime, ok?”

Wally managed to return her smile. “Alright.”

His friends were gathered in the hallway outside of his room, Robin and Artemis looked guilty and they were all eager to talk to him. But Black Canary ushered them away and Wally could hear her voice rise as she began to scold the team as he ran out of the cave and towards Central City. He decided he’d make a quick stop at home and then go find Uncle Hal to help with patrol and spend some time with him. Maybe he’d even convince Uncle Hal to get ice cream with him afterwards.

His parents were in the middle of dinner when Wally got back. His mother lifted an eyebrow at him when he passed by the dining room to go upstairs to his room.

“Where were you, young man?” She demanded like it actually mattered.

Wally stopped and turned towards his parents. “I was at training. I left a note.”

Mary frowned. “I needed help with cleaning the house today and your father was working late.”

“You never said anything to me about it this morning during breakfast.”

“Well, maybe if you’d sit at the table long enough to have a conversation, I would have. Now, why don’t you have dinner with us?” His mother sounded much more pleasant towards the end and it made Wally feel guilty for not being around to help her earlier.

There wasn’t a place set for Wally at the table, so he had to go to the kitchen to get a plate and silverware. He quickly loaded his plate with food and tried not to feel too bad about trying to skip out on dinner with his parents, it wasn’t too terrible or torturous to hang out with them for a bit. His parents talked about their days and Wally half listened as he tried to eat slowly. His mother always told him it was bad manners (and disgusting) to eat at super speeds.

“What’s wrong with you?” His father asked, finally noticing Wally’s red eyes and his tired expression leftover from his disastrous training session. No emphasis on the aster at all.

“Bad day at training,” Wally lifted his head. “My friends were giving me a bad time and Black Canary thinks I’m depressed because I really miss Uncle Barry and—”

“Don’t be so dramatic, Wallace, you’re not depressed,” Mary interrupted her son. “And Barry’s only been gone for how long? A week?”

“Over two,” Wally mumbled. “But today it just seemed really harsh, you know? I don’t know why, but it hurt and—”

“You’re fifteen years old, don’t whine and be a man about it,” Rudy advised and that put an end to the subject in his mind.

Wally looked down at the food on his plate and he wasn’t hungry anymore. “Yeah, right, ok. I’ll just … be a man about it.” 

\--

Black Canary wanted him to spend some time with his family and in Wally’s sound opinion he did just that. Dinner and then running out to find Uncle Hal totally counted as family time. So he returned to Mount Justice the very next day, but found it empty. He knew that Dick wasn’t going to be around, they had talked last night and his friend had apologized and said something about Black Canary beating them into submission during the rest of training for making Wally feel bad. Dick promised that they’d have some quality bro time later in the week. Wally didn’t really expect Artemis or Kaldur to be there, though he had hoped a little that they were. And Megan, Conner and Red Tornado were noticeably missing.

Wally got antsy and ran to Megan and Conner’s high school, but couldn’t find them. Apparently Megan’s cheerleading practice had been canceled and Wally went back to Mount Justice to see if Megan and Conner were there. The cave was still empty. Wally finished his homework, then tried to sit down and watch TV, but he was too restless and he started pacing. He tried calling Megan and Conner’s cell phones, he _knows_ Batman gave them phones. Conner’s phone went straight to voicemail, like usual, and Megan’s just kept ringing until it went to her own voicemail.

Shoving his phone into his pocket, Wally decided to double check the other rooms to see if anyone was home. Just as he was passing the room that acted as their garage, Wally heard a noise and ran into the large room, hoping to find Conner working on something. Instead he found the large sphere Superboy had gotten from Bialya rolling towards him.

“Rolly!” Wally called it by the nickname he had given it and hugged the sphere. Letting go of the sphere, it made a small movement towards the motorcycle Conner was working on and then back to Wally. “You miss Conner, huh? Me too. I wish he and Megan were here. I mean, where else would they be? Do you think they’re on a date? That would be so unfair, super vision or not, I totally saw Miss M before Supey! I’m bored, I really want someone to hang out with. Usually I’d be at Aunt Iris and Uncle Barry’s place, waiting for them to get home and tell them about my day, but they’re not around right now. And my parents are pretty lame, who likes hanging out with their parents anyway? I don’t.”

The sphere lightly nudged Wally’s leg in sympathy.

“Thanks, Rolly. I guess I just have to wait for Megan and Conner to get back. Ugh! I just want them to be here now!” Wally threw his arms up into the air and sighed loudly. “Great, I’m reduced to talking to a giant metal sphere.”

The sphere nudged Wally’s leg again, but this time not so lightly.

“Sorry, Rolly, I shouldn’t hurt your feelings like that.” Wally hugged the sphere again in an apology. “But I need some non-spherical friends right now. I know! I’ll call Roy!”

Wally silently prayed that Roy would answer.

_“What do you want, Wally?”_ Roy sounded a little annoyed when he picked up.

“Hi, Roy!” Wally grinned widely on the other side of the line. “What are you doing right now?” 

_“Reading for class. Why? Did you need something?”_

“Are you at your apartment? In Star City?” Wally crossed his fingers and there was twinge of desperation in his voice.

There was a pause. _“Yeah.”_

“Ok, ok, good. Just stay there.”

_“Why? Wally, what are you—”_

And soon Wally was pounding on Roy’s door. Roy jerked opened the door and frowned at the speedster staring at him with a hopeful look. The archer strategically kept his body in the doorway, preventing Wally from forcing his way inside of the apartment.

“Wally, I’m busy—”

“I know, I know, but can I just stay here and hang out with you? I’ll be quiet, I promise. I even brought my own homework.” Wally lifted his bag to show Roy that he had something to do.

Roy rolled his eyes and stepped away, opening the door some more and Wally happily came in. Wally quickly spotted Roy’s textbooks on the couch in the tiny studio apartment and settled himself on it. Roy silently dropped back down into his spot and picked up his history textbook and started reading again. Pulling out his one of his own books, Wally tried to read and get comfortable. 

He started migrating from his end of the couch towards Roy. First their knees touched, then their arms and Wally’s hand tried to find Roy’s. His fingers brushed against Roy’s hand that rested casually in his lap and Roy looked up sharply at the contact. Wally wiggled back over to his side without a word. The younger teen sighed and squirmed, continuously shifting and making sad little noises. When Roy turned his head to glare at Wally, the speedster pouted and rubbed at eyes that were suddenly too wet.

“Goddamn it,” Roy muttered to himself and shut his textbook, throwing it off to the side. He grabbed Wally by the arm, pulled him closer and put a reluctant arm around the speedster. “Tell me about your day,” Roy said in a low, comforting tone that must have taken some effort.

But Wally basked in it and he leaned into the awkward half embrace. “Today, my PE teacher said that I should join the track team. See, every week we have to run all period, which is nothing to me. I mean, I make sure that I don’t use my speed _too_ much, but I guess my teacher noticed something. He really, really wants me to join, I know Uncle Barry would probably say no, risking my identity and all that, but wouldn’t it be cool if I were a track star? And then all the girls would like me, they don’t really care for science geeks.” Wally wrinkled his nose. “I bet you never had trouble finding girls in high school and no one called you a ginger. Hey, do girls like science geeks in college? Anyway, as I was saying …”

Roy kept nodding as Wally talked without taking a single breath. He was surprised that Wally didn’t pass out from a lack of oxygen, but Wally kept talking. When Roy tried to shove Wally out the door around dinner time, the speedster stopped in mid ramble and bit his quivering lip.

“You don’t like having me around? Are you mad at me?” Wally asked. “Maybe that’s why Conner and Megan weren’t at Mount Justice, they didn’t want to hang out with me. Do you think so?”

“Oh, for the love of god!” Roy sighed loudly and steered Wally back to the couch. “Sit here, find something to watch and I’ll order us dinner, ok? And I’m not mad.”

“You seem mad.” Wally threw his arms violently around Roy. “Please don’t be mad at me.”

“Ok, ok, just … just sit down and I’ll get dinner. _Sit down,_ Wally.” Roy knew this was more than he could handle when Wally let go of him, sat down and pulled his legs up to his chest, silently moping. Hesitantly, Roy placed a hand on Wally’s head. “I’m not mad … I just … You can stay, alright?”

Wally’s mood brightened considerably when Roy touched his head and his smile was wide and excited. “Thanks, Roy! Hey, can we get pizza? No, wait, I want Chinese!”

“Ok, I’ll go order it.” Roy stepped out onto the balcony and closed the door behind him for some privacy. He pulled out his cell and sent a text message to Kaldur before calling the Chinese restaurant down the street.

_wallys over @ my place. bc said something about him being depressed last night, i think its true. i need help now!!!_

Kaldur finally showed up just as Roy and Wally were finishing dinner. The team leader managed to convince Wally to leave with him, telling Wally that Roy needed to prepare for his college classes the next day. Wally was pleased when Roy hugged him, it was tight and warm and Wally felt wonderfully lost in it, cheering the speedster up about leaving. Due to the time difference it was rather late when they made it back to Central City. Kaldur was insistent about taking him there himself and Wally was just happy about the company.

“I know you are depressed and worried about the Flash, I am here to listen whenever you want.” Kaldur told him when Wally pressed himself against Kaldur’s chest and tucked his head under the older teen’s chin. “We will talk more tomorrow. Now, go and check in with your parents, I am sure they must be worried about you being gone all day.”

Wally nodded and waited for Kaldur to leave before glancing over at the quiet, dark house. He didn’t bother to go inside and ran in the direction of Happy Harbor.

\--

Robin blinked at the sudden flash of light that was subdued by his sunglasses. Wally didn’t seem disturbed by it, he was too comfortable with his head in Robin’s lap as he laid on the bed. They were hanging out in Robin’s room, trying to figure out what to do for the weekend when Artemis came by to snap a picture.

“It’s not as cute as Kaldur and Wally, but it’s pretty damn close,” Artemis said as she looked at her picture. “I should start a scrapbook, ‘Boys that Wally Cuddles With.’ Hmm, it could be a calendar.”

Robin glared and Wally smiled as Artemis almost skipped out of the room with her potential blackmail material. “We could have two archers,” Wally commented after Artemis disappeared. “We’ll just have to convince Roy to give Artemis a chance.”

“When did you begin to like Artemis so much?”

“She’s not too bad and if we send her away, where will she go? Go fulltime being Green Arrow’s sidekick? We know how that turns out.” Wally tugged on a loose thread on Robin’s jeans. “And I bet Roy is lonely doing his solo career thing and living by himself. They both need company, so they should both be on the team.”

“Uh-huh. Are you … Are you ok, KF?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” the speedster said against Robin’s leg. He reached into his pock and pulled out his phone as it began to ring. Glancing at the screen, Wally decided to ignore it and tossed it to the side.

Picking up the phone, Robin narrowed his eyes. “KF, it’s your mom.”

The speedster just sighed quietly and wrapped his finger around the loose thread, pulling on it.

“Dude! Don’t ignore your mother!” Robin frowned at his friend, who remained silent. “Fine, I’m going to talk to her if you won’t.”

Wally shifted his shoulders, but made no other indication that he heard anything Robin said.

“Hello Mrs. West, this is Rob … Oh, I’m good, busy with school and extracurricular activities … Yeah, I’m doing really well in school … Yep, lots of studying and hard work ... Yeah, I’ll teach Wally how to do that …” Wally lifted his head a little and stared as Robin told his mom about how he was doing. “Uh-huh, yeah, your son is being a bump on a log … Hm, really? … Oh … Yeah … Ok, I’ll tell him … You have a good day too, Mrs. West, bye.”

The speedster yelped when Robin smacked him on the arm. “What was that for!?”

“Your mom said you didn’t come home last night, your parents must’ve been worried.”

That genuinely surprised Wally. It was Friday already and he hadn’t spent the last _two_ nights at home. “She noticed?” His voice rose in a strange twist of hopefulness. “Did she say they were worried?”

“Um, no.” Robin’s hands unconsciously clenched the fabric of Wally’s shirt, beginning to feel uneasy.

“Oh …” Wally’s voice faded a bit. “Well, what did she say? Did she ask about me?”

“She just asked how I was doing and she wanted me to tell you that your dad says you need to clean your room and to say hi to the Garricks for them.”

His words seemed to make Wally deflate and the speedster just mumbled, “Oh.” And fell silent. The speedster wrapped his arms around Robin leg, preventing the Boy Wonder from moving, but Robin wasn’t going anywhere. 

Tangling his fingers into Wally’s hair, Robin whispered, “Wally, are you ok? Wally?”

His friend just nodded in response, but didn’t say anything. He just laid on the bed, all of his was energy gone. Robin didn’t know what to do, didn’t know what to say, but he kept his hands on the speedster as it seemed to be the only thing that brought Wally any comfort.

Soon Artemis came back to the open doorway of Robin’s room, this time bringing Megan along with her, probably to giggle over how cute they looked. The girls had bright smiles on their faces and Megan brought a camera with her, but they froze in the entrance and their eyes were wide at seeing how downtrodden Wally suddenly was. Both Megan and Artemis seemed just as clueless as Robin, but they all seemed to be thinking the same thing. That there was something seriously wrong with Wally.

\--

Saturday morning, Wally shuffled out of Robin’s room and sniffed the air. His toes curled in pleasure when the smell of pancakes and bacon hit his nose and he was in the kitchen in an instant. He grinned widely at Megan. The bacon was a little singed and the pancakes were a shade too pale, but that didn’t stop Wally from sneaking a bite to eat while her back was turned. An oven mitt flew from out of nowhere and hit Wally in the face, letting him know that Megan knew what was he was doing.

Getting the hint, Wally left the food alone, but he snuck up behind of Megan and gave her a good morning hug. Then he set the table, because Saturday mornings he’d usually help Aunt Iris set the table, if he was wake and able to move about after patrol and missions. And it was just the right thing to do, it might earn him a pat on the head or, even better, a kiss on the cheek. Once the food was finished, Megan sent it over and Wally grabbed the floating plates to make sure they made it to table.

“Should I go get everyone?” Wally asked.

“I’ll call them in a moment,” Megan answered, then paused with hesitation. “Um, Wally, can I ask you something?”

“To a date, beautiful?” Wally grinned.

“Uh, no, not anything like that,” Megan stuttered and waved her hands about to clear any confusion. “I just … I noticed that since the Flash has left you’ve been here a lot. Is there … Is there any reason why? Is this the first time the Flash has been away before?”

“He’s been away before, it’s just kind of boring in Central City without Uncle Barry,” Wally said easily, his grin was a little smaller, but he didn’t miss a beat.

“Isn’t your aunt around? You always talk about her.”

Wally shook his head. “No, she’s actually out of the country right now for work. But it’s cool, I’m fine.”

“What about your parents?” Megan asked, though for some reason she really didn’t want to.

This time Wally snorted, his laugh made her feel better. “Oh, they’re my parents, you know? It’s not cool to hang out with your parents. They just don’t get me, it’s better to hang out here.” He flicked his wrist, making the statement more flippant.

“Yeah, that’s what I’ve seen on TV,” she smiled back.

But something felt off to Megan. Even though she didn’t dare to read Wally’s mind, the emotion that was rolling off of him from their conversation was unavoidable, it caught her unprepared. It made Megan feel like she was on an island of her own. That she was alone and that sensation made her skin crawl, but not in the way that she expected, where she wanted to shy away from people. Instead it was quite the opposite, she wanted to touch someone and she wanted affection and attention. The loneliness gnawed at her worse than her own loneliness from being away from her own kind. She really, really wanted a hug. And as quickly as that feeling hit her, it was gone. Megan didn’t even know what to say, how to even ask Wally about it.

Had that feeling always been there and she had just never noticed it before? No, no, Megan would have noticed. It was too strong not to notice. But it had been so brief, a short flare, that maybe it wasn’t really anything at all. It could have been from Conner, whose emotions were so strong, a potent mixture of anger, confusion and isolation. Not anything like how Wally usually felt to her, intense but excited and eager.

Either way she found her arms wrapping around Wally. Not just two arms, M’gann had four arms for the embrace, because two didn’t feel like enough, it wasn’t enough contact. Wally flinched a little in surprise over the extra pair of arms, but relaxed quickly and he buried his face into her hair. Unconsciously M’gann reached out a little and a warm wave of familiarity and happiness came from the speedster. But she saw that he wasn’t thinking about a cute girl in his arms, it was somewhere warmer and homier.

She really needed to talk to Kaldur.

\--

Wally was surprised when Kaldur asked to talk to him in private. Whatever Kaldur wanted, it sounded serious, but that did little to stop Wally from scooting unnecessarily close to the older teen when they sat down on the bed in Kaldur’s room. Wally pressed their sides together and he was reminded how warm and cozy Kaldur was. The speedster had almost completely forgotten that he was in the room for a serious talk and leaned in closer.

“Wally,” Kaldur said as he gripped his shoulder and pushed him away a little, trying to reinforce the importance of the conversation they were about to have.

When Kaldur pushed him away, Wally tucked himself into a ball and his eyes found a very interesting spot on the bedspread. That was fine, not everyone wanted to cuddle with Wally, he could accept that. His mother didn’t like cuddling with him and with his father it was completely out of the question. Aunt Iris never insisted on Wally staying away though, she never said he was too old or that she was too tired to deal with him. And Uncle Barry was never above arms around the shoulders and Wally leaning on him. Kaldur quietly said his name again and then the team leader drew him in with one of his tattoo covered arms, pulling Wally close until the speedster smiled. Wally made sure not to crowd Kaldur too much this time, but he was content with their reestablished closeness. 

“Wally,” Kaldur tried again, “the team and I have been concerned about you. Ever since the Flash left, and apparently also your aunt, you have not been acting completely like yourself. You have been spending a lot of time here and have been …” The older teen struggled how to put his thoughts into words, but when he failed he repeated, “You have not been yourself. Is everything alright at home? With your parents?”

That was unexpected. It felt similar to the conversation that Wally had with Megan earlier. Wally shook his head in denial. “Everything is fine. I just don’t like to spend all my time at home, I like hanging out with you guys.”

The concern in Kaldur’s gaze made Wally feel guilty. Kaldur shouldn’t have to worry about those kinds of things when it came to Wally. One of the first things Kid Flash learned after meeting the other sidekicks was that he was lucky. It had been exciting for Kid Flash to meet the other sidekicks when he first started his crime fighting career. Wally West didn’t have a lot of close friends that he could relate to, but he was sure that Kid Flash would make tons of friends who would understand him. But instead he learned that he was beyond lucky compared to his friends. 

He and Robin hit it off really well when they first met and Kid Flash found himself opening up to the younger boy in a way he never had to anyone else. Right away he knew they would be friends, brothers even. And Robin didn’t shy away from fist bumps, high fives, hugs and a million other small touches. But one night, as they shivered under Robin’s cape during a stakeout in the middle of one of Gotham’s worst winters in decades, Kid Flash asked Robin about his parents. Because that was one thing most kids could relate about, parents who didn’t live up to desperate expectations. He was wrong, so terribly wrong, and Robin went pale and didn’t speak. Later, when Robin revealed his identity to Kid Flash, he remembered the night that he asked Robin about his parents and Kid Flash felt like the biggest jerk in the world.

Speedy had been a little more blunt about it. They became fast friends, sure Kid Flash had more energy than a puppy on uppers and Speedy was gruff and serious and no, goddamn it, he was _not_ a sidekick, but their friendship worked. Kid Flash was in awe of Speedy’s skills and badass attitude, and Speedy appreciated Kid Flash’s humor and determination. The archer was like an older brother to Kid Flash, so he felt comfortable talking to Speedy about his home life. One day Kid Flash asked, “Do your parents argue a lot?” And Speedy just shrugged and said, “My father’s dead and I never knew my mother.” Kid Flash never said anything about parents to Speedy again.

By the time Kid Flash met Aqualad, he was cautious about talking about family or other personal things. But he found himself wanting to get to know Aqualad better and to try to connect with him. Aqualad was unflappable, serious, one hell of a fighter and a great listener, so it was really hard for Kid Flash to resist opening up to him. He tried to hold himself back, but against his better judgment he asked Aqualad if underwater parents were just as difficult surface parents. When Aqualad gave him a sad smile and told him that his mother had passed on and he didn’t know who his father was, Kid Flash wanted to crawl into a hole and die.

When Kid Flash met Superboy, Miss Martian and Artemis, he didn’t dare ask about families or grumble about his own. He had learned his lesson with Robin, Speedy and Aqualad. Because anything Wally had to complain about his parents was nothing in contrast to what his friends had been through. He was lucky to have both of his parents, he loved them and they did their best to raise him, they were doing what they thought was right. Wally had nothing to complain about just because his parents didn’t like to hug or kiss him. They didn’t do a lot of things, but that didn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. 

Because seriously, what was missed science fairs compared to watching your parents fall to their deaths? What was being told to be quiet all the time compared to your father dying in a fire? What was no one waiting up for you after dangerous missions and patrols compared to never knowing your mom or dad? What were harsh words and criticism compared to having your father not acknowledge your existence or being a planet away from your family or god knows what else? Everything that Wally had to whine about seemed so petty, so insignificant. 

It was wrong for Kaldur to worry about him like that. There was nothing to worry about.

“I want you to be honest with me, Wally,” Kaldur said firmly. “You know that you can trust me with anything, I only wish to help you.”

“I told you, I’m fine. I mean, maybe Black Canary was right, maybe I’m a little depressed that Uncle Barry and Aunt Iris are away, but I’m _fine_.” Wally didn’t like to admit it, but Kaldur’s concern and attention was nice, even if it was misplaced. It helped to fill the void that was clawing at him ever since Uncle Barry, Aunt Iris and the Garricks left. “You’re sweet though, worrying about me like that,” Wally teased lightly and grinned widely when he got Kaldur to blush.

The older teen hold on Wally tightened, almost smashing the speedster against his broad chest, and there was a decidedly unsatisfied expression in his pale eyes.

\--

“I thought I did the hacking thing. You’re stealing my thing,” Robin complained as he leaned over Kaldur’s shoulder to see what he was doing. “Uh, Kaldur, why are you looking at the Justice League’s file on KF?” He taught Kaldur how to get into the Justice League’s database and now he was telling himself not to give up anymore trade secrets.

“It is wrong of me, I know, however Wally was less than forthcoming with answers earlier. He is still with the others in Happy Harbor, correct?” Kaldur glanced around, obviously afraid of being caught with personal and confidential information about his friend.

“Yeah, they went to a movie. I think Megan is trying to set KF up with Artemis, she was watching a show today where the characters went on a double date, so,” Robin just waved his hand in annoyance to finish his sentence. He wanted to go to the movie too, but there he was instead, watching as his team leader looked through his best friend’s file from the Justice League. Not that Robin could call him out on it, Batman’s file was much more thorough and Robin had access to it. “Have you found anything?”

“Nothing that was useful or I did not know before.” His eyes narrowed at the computer screen and then asked, “Do you know anything of Wally’s home life?”

“I know that Barry and Iris Allen are apparently the patron saints of Central City according to Wally,” Robin chuckled.

“He lives with his parents, correct?”

“Yeah.”

“And you have met them?”

Robin opened his mouth, then clicked it shut and shook his head. He tilted his chin up in thought and said, “No. I’ve talked to his mom on the phone when Wally wouldn’t answer, he needs to respect his mom more.” Robin rolled his eyes. “She’s a nice lady, always asks how I’m doing and how school is going. She says that she wishes Wally had half my motivation and work ethics. I don’t know anything about his dad though, actually, I can’t even remember his name right now. I know Conner’s met them, but he hasn’t said anything about them one way or the other.”

“And Wally does not speak of them? Even to you?”

Robin shook his head again.

“Anything?” Kaldur asked.

“No, nothing. What are you getting at?”

Kaldur sighed. “The Flash is gone and according M’gann Wally told her that his aunt is out of the country, apparently she left before the Flash. Ever since the Flash went on his mission Wally has been rather … touchy.”

“Wally always likes to touch people,” Robin replied, but he bit his lip. “He’s just gone a little overboard with it lately,” his voice trailed off softly.

“And he has spent an excessive amount of time at Mount Justice, he has been moody and M’gann has felt something off about him this morning. Everyone has noticed that there is something wrong with him, even Roy has spoken to me about it. And all of this started after Wally’s aunt and uncle left and we know nothing of Wally’s parents and his relationship with them.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” The younger teen suddenly went still and his hands clenched into fists. “You don’t think … Do you think that Wally’s being—?”

“No,” Kaldur said sharply. “No, I do not believe such a thing could happen without the Flash noticing, but I believe that there is something wrong.”

“Have you ever thought that maybe Wally just doesn’t get along with his parents? Like _normal_ teenagers?” Robin asserted. “I think Black Canary is right, Wally’s depressed about the Flash being away, and his aunt being gone probably doesn’t help, and we just need to be more supportive. I still feel like a jerk for making him sad Friday afternoon.”

“How did that happen?” Kaldur asked, unaware of what had happened.

“I don’t know. I talked to his mom on the phone and he asked me if she was worried about him or something like that. She didn’t say anything about that to me and I told him and he went all sad and quiet on me. It was really odd, disturbing even.”

Kaldur was now even more unsatisfied with ‘Wally is depressed because the Flash is gone’ explanation. And honestly, so was Robin.

They didn’t have time to dwell though, because the computer suddenly announced Batman’s arrival. They were going to get a mission.

\--

“Oh god, the Flash is going to kill us, the Flash is going to kill us dead,” Robin moaned as he inspected Kid Flash’s arm that was pressed against his body at an awkward angle. “The Flash is going to come back from space and kill us.”

“What do you mean us!? This wasn’t our fault!” Artemis protested. “Superboy punched the guy who broke his arm, so everything is fine if you ask me.”

Kid Flash sulked miserably in Superboy’s arms. Normally Kid Flash would kick out and insist that he could walk on his own just fine. But this time he snuggled up to Superboy, settling comfortably against Superboy’s chest, while he whimpered pitifully in pain. It was bad enough that he had broken it once and he really wasn’t looking forward to breaking it again.

“Miss M, call the bioship, we must get back to Mount Justice and report to Batman and get Kid’s injuries tended to,” Aqualad took control of the situation again.

After they got into the bioship, Robin deliberately took the spot next to Aqualad and whispered, “Usually when something happens to KF we just call the Flash to take him home, who do we call when we get back?”

Aqualad stilled and thought for a moment. “We will notify his parents and I will escort him home.”

Robin hesitated, but eventually nodded in agreement. But Kaldur had to wait before he made a call to his teammate’s parents. Aqualad got stuck having to explain to Batman why they had to break cover during their mission and why Kid Flash’s arm was hanging in such a funny way while the rest of the team took Kid Flash to the medical bay. Miss Martian was sweet enough to stand next to Aqualad for moral support as Batman chewed him out. Afterwards, Aqualad located Wally’s phone in his room and quickly found the house number. Stepping out into the hallway, he silently prepped himself about what he was going to say as the phone rang over and over again. 

No one answered the house phone, so Kaldur found Rudolph West’s cell phone number and it rang a few times until a gruff, male voice answered it. _“Damn it, Wallace, do you know what time it is?”_

Aqualad almost jumped at the tone. “Uh, no, Mr. West, this is Aqualad, Kid Flash’s teammate. Kid Flash was hurt.”

There was a long pause and a loud, shaky breath. _“Wallace was hurt? Is he ok?”_ Concern replaced the initial annoyance and Aqualad relaxed.

_“Did something happen to Wallace?”_ A sleepy, female voice rose.

“Do not worry, Wally is ok,” Kaldur tried to reassure the Wests. “His arm was broken during our mission tonight. They are breaking and resetting it now, however he will be in some pain and will have limited use of his arm.”

_“Oh, that’s it? He heals from those kinds of things pretty quick, right?”_ The concern faded away from Rudolph’s tone. _“It’s just a broken arm, Mary.”_ Rudolph told his wife.

_“Oh, ok. Good.”_ Mary said before drifting off.

Kaldur’s jaw dropped open and he wasn’t sure what to say to what he was hearing from Wally’s parents.

_“Don’t you guys usually get the Flash to handle these kinds of things?”_ Rudolph was beginning to sound annoyed again.

Recovering in time to answer, Kaldur said, “The Flash is away on a mission. I thought it would be important to inform you and Mrs. West as we will be bringing him home soon.” Kaldur steadied himself and added, “Wally might appreciate it if you were to wait up for him.”

_“Wallace has a key to the house.”_

And before Kaldur could say anything else the sound of the dial tone filled his ears. He slumped against the wall, letting the phone slip from his hand before tilting his head back and covering his eyes with his hands. There was too much to process. From knowing Kid Flash and the Flash for a couple years, Aqualad was used to the Flash freaking out over every scratch on his partner. He was used to watching the Flash fuss over Kid Flash, so it was odd to hear the Wests being dismissive about Wally’s injury, even if Wally’s broken arm would be fully healed by morning and just really sore. 

Finally peeling his hands away from his face, Kaldur noticed that he wasn’t alone. Black Canary stood in the hallway, obviously overhearing part of the teen’s conversation with the Wests.

\--

Wally was happy that he managed to convince his friends not to send him home. It was just a broken arm, it would fine soon and he would have had to return to Mount Justice the next day anyway to take the temporary cast off. Robin seemed happy over the fact that his parents wouldn’t see the evidence of his injury. Really, really happy. Actually, Robin was hacking into the mission report and deleting the part where Kid Flash’s arm was snapped like a twig.

“Dude, I don’t want your uncle to vibrate me into a wall and leave me there,” Robin told him, giving him a halfhearted smile as he glanced up from his computer. He was sitting next to Wally’s bed in the medical bay, the bed was adjusted so the speedster could sit up with ease. “I know he’s up there in space waiting for the mission reports to come in and if he thinks you’re hurt he’s going to come down and kill us all.”

“He’s not that bad! At least my uncle isn’t ‘the night’ and doesn’t carry around kryptonite in his belt.” Wally’s air quotes were only half effective as he could only use one hand.

“The Flash is totally that bad, KF, way worse than Batman. I hope your parents are a little less protective.”

Wally frowned and looked up the ceiling. “Yeah, they’re pretty chill.”

“Chill as in cool or chill as in icy like Mr. Freeze?” Robin sounded rather casual as he poked at the keys of his keyboard.

“They’re just chill.” Swinging his legs over the edge of the bed, Wally planted his feet on the floor. “Do you think I can go back to my room now? The décor of the med bay is doing nothing for my recovery. And what does a guy have to do to get some food around here?”

“Always thinking with your stomach.” Robin rolled his eyes, but turned off his computer and led Wally out of the medical bay to go to the kitchen for a snack.

After his snack, Wally yawned loudly and Robin insisted that he go to bed. He went without protest, tired from the mission and the late hour. Shuffling down the hallway Wally paused as he heard hushed voices. Kaldur and Black Canary stood together, their voices low as if they were conspiring together and neither looked particularly happy.

“You are the leader, you must address this,” Black Canary told Kaldur in a hushed tone.

“I will.” Kaldur stopped though as they both noticed Wally in the hallway.

Black Canary didn’t say anything to Wally, but she moved towards him and drew him into a hug. She was careful not to smash his injured arm, but her hold was still firm and comforting. Yeah, Wally decided, Black Canary definitely taught Roy how to hug. Then Black Canary let him go and disappeared further into the cave, muttering about things she _needed_ to take care of.

“May I speak with you, Wally?” Kaldur asked.

“Sure. Come on in.” Wally waved Kaldur over to his room and he opened the door. Wally settled himself on the bed and waited for Kaldur to sit down next to him. Once the older teen sat down, Wally raised his hand in a defensive gesture and started talking, because there could be only one reason why Kaldur wanted to talk to him at this time of night. There could be only one reason why Black Canary looked so concerned and told Kaldur to step up his leadership role. 

“I know, I know, next time don’t run into our super powered target and ruin the mission and put everyone in danger,” Wally’s voice began to hitch and his eyes burned as he continued to list all the things he messed up that night, “and make Batman yell at you and I screwed up and I won’t do it again and god I’m such a screw up and—”

A webbed hand clamped itself over Wally’s mouth and an exasperated Kaldur said, “That is not why I asked to speak with you. I only wanted to know if you were alright.”

Wally nodded as Kaldur had yet to take his hand away.

“And I wanted to make sure that everything was alright at your home, with your parents.”

Wally lifted an eyebrow. He didn’t know why Kaldur was bringing that up again. Everything was _fine_. He nodded again.

Kaldur frowned and pressed his lips together like he was trying to figure something out. Finally he removed his hand from Wally’s mouth, but the speedster remained silent, he wasn’t really sure what to say that would convince Kaldur that everything was ok. He didn’t have to say anything as Kaldur pulled him close, one tattooed arm wrapped around his waist and a large hand cupping the back of his head as his cheek was pressed against Kaldur’s chest.

“If you do not want to speak with me, that’s ok, but I wish to hear it, whatever it is you want to say. I want to listen to you.” 

Wally’s good hand unconsciously gripped the smooth fabric of Kaldur’s uniform.

“Wally, I spoke with your parents this evening to inform them about your injury.”

His grip on Kaldur’s shirt became tighter, his knuckles turning white.

“They are … They are not as I expected, considering how the Flash is with you. They do not seem to share the Flash’s zealousness about your safety nor his warmth and kindness.”

Closing his eyes, Wally pressed his face further into Kaldur’s shirt.

Fingers gently stroked Wally’s hair and Kaldur’s sigh was quiet when Wally didn’t speak. “It is ok,” Kaldur’s deep voice whispered, “if you do not wish to talk to me, but I will not leave you.” Arms tighten around Wally securely and warm breath tickled his scalp. “I am here for you, Wally, as your friend who wants to know your problems, whatever they may be.”

Kaldur was warm, solid and just _there_. And Wally opened his mouth and started talking.

\--

In all honesty, everything was fine within the West household.

Wally’s parents loved him and he loved his parents. That was a fact, not an exaggeration. They had some really happy memories, a few good vacations, a handful of Thanksgivings and Christmases that didn’t end in tears and a preschool graduation that would always be Wally’s fondest memory. It was a rare event that both his parents and his aunt attended and afterwards they went out dinner and ice cream where Wally received presents and praise.

But they also didn’t have the best relationship. First off, his parents always worked long hours, and were always too tired to deal with an overly hyper and curious child who was obsessed with the Flash and science, two things they didn’t really care for (until they found out about Barry). His parents wanted him to keep his head down, work hard and be thankful if he ended up with a decent job in the future, they didn’t approve of Wally’s grandiose dreams. His parents did their best to discourage his daydreaming. They were forgetful too, soccer games, science fairs, being picked up from school and parent-teacher meetings were often forgotten. And at home they fought, his parents fought with each other and with him, sharp, stinging words that were later soothed over by halfhearted apologies.

That was why Wally tried to run away when he was seven years old to go live with Aunt Iris. His parents didn’t have time for him and he thought he’d make everyone’s lives easier. But things weren’t bad, his parents were doing their best, they really were. It was just that Wally and his parents were different and as a result Wally was lonely. 

For a long time Wally just thought that Aunt Iris was kind of weird for hugging and kissing him so much. But then she and Barry started dating and Barry always hugged Wally. Barry patted his head, carried him on his shoulders, let Wally lean against him and held his hand to make sure he wouldn’t get lost when they were out. After Barry and Iris got married, Barry introduced him to Jay and Joan Garrick, family friends Uncle Barry told him. And Grandpa Jay and Grandma Joan were just as touchy as Iris and Barry. There were hugs and kisses on the cheeks every time they saw each other, pats on the shoulder and head, and wonderful conversations about science, comic books and whatever Wally wanted to talk about. He could even bring his toys out into the living room and play while the adults talked and they only told him to be quiet when he was using his outside voice.

Wally found that he loved it. He loved the hugs, the attention. He always looked forward to seeing his aunt and uncle and the Garricks. And eventually he just started walking to Aunt Iris and Uncle Barry’s new house that was close to school every afternoon. Afternoons became evenings and evenings became nights. They never told Wally no and were always happy to see him. His parents never protested and almost seemed relieved. And things just kind of worked out that way. 

So when he met the other sidekicks (partners), he greeted them with wide smiles and ignored the concept of personal space which was met with varying degrees of acceptance. In some ways though Wally wanted to know if his friends had similar experiences with parents, he wanted to relate to them in that way, but that wasn’t to be so. They had their own problems, bigger problems. And Wally was fine. Really. 

Then everyone was gone at once, pulled into different directions and Wally was alone. So he made up for it with his friends and mentors. Ok, maybe he overcompensated, just a wee bit. He wanted more out of his teammates other than the occasional touch and talk about missions. Wally wanted to recreate what he had with Barry, Iris and the Garricks. He didn’t consciously do it, it just happened that way to the discomfort, confusion and concern of his friends. And he just didn’t want to be at home, he didn’t want to feel alone and be reminded how unconnected he was to his parents and how much he missed his aunt and uncle and the Garricks. 

Mount Justice was a better option. Robin was used to his touchiness and he was small and huggable. Megan liked to give hugs and reminded him of Aunt Iris sometimes. Conner and Artemis were a little uncomfortable with his invasion of their space, but Wally thought that maybe they just needed someone show them affection. Kaldur was strong and solid, similar to Uncle Barry. And the mentors and Roy were encouraging and supportive. Why wouldn’t Wally want to be around them?

Kaldur sat perfectly still as Wally told him all of this, a constant stream of words that was hardly interrupted by a breath. It was hard to accept that he’d miss something like this and he was at a loss over what to do. Because Wally wasn’t in any danger, there was nothing to save him from beyond his own loneliness. Superboy punching something wouldn’t help. Robin couldn’t hack something. There were no minds that Miss Martian needed to read. There were no targets for Artemis to shoot. And Kaldur didn’t need to electrocute anything. Their usual methods wouldn’t help Wally.

So Kaldur just held Wally tighter, cautious of his hurt arm, and stroked his hair until Wally’s breathing evened out and the speedster had fallen asleep against him. There was nothing that Kaldur could hit with all of his strength to make things better, but he could give Wally what he needed and he could make sure the rest of the team did too.

Closing his eyes and lying down on the bed, never letting Wally go, he tried to think of a way to explain all of this to his other teammates the next morning. He fell asleep while holding Wally instead.

\--

“I know you two talked last night. Tell me everything.”

Kaldur blinked at the boy in front of him. It was early in the morning. Too early after the kind of night they had. At least Wally and the rest of the team were still asleep. Except for Robin, which didn’t surprise him.

“Tell me what’s wrong with Wally,” Robin pressed on.

Kaldur had been trying to figure out how to tell the team or if he should even tell them. He didn’t have Wally’s permission and what the speedster had told him was deeply personal. But Robin was Wally’s best friend and they were a team, maybe they had a right to know. Maybe, but probably not.

“Kaldur, he’s not being hurt, right?” There was hesitation in Robin’s voice, as if he didn’t really want to know the answer.

“No, not in that way.” Kaldur rubbed his eyes and sighed loudly.

“In what way then? Tell me.” A bit of Batman was beginning to shine through Robin and it made Kaldur shift unconsciously in his chair.

“Our assumptions about Wally’s ideal home life were not accurate,” he finally relented. “It would seem that most of Wally’s emotional support comes from his aunt and uncle, not his parents. His parents’ lack of support is enough to make him breakdown while his aunt and uncle are away. That is why he has been so clingy, he has been compensating for what he does not receive at home. I believe he wished to keep this from us as he believes our own problems are bigger than his own.”

The expression on Robin’s face was unreadable and his mouth was set into a firm line. He let out a loud breath through his nose and his head tilted towards the hallway, where the bedrooms were.

“Robin, we cannot …”

“Cannot what, Kaldur?” The younger teen snapped. “You basically told me that my best friend’s parents are indifferent to him! What can’t we do, huh?”

There was a quiet seriousness to Kaldur’s voice as he whispered, “There are some things we cannot fix. Black Canary is going to speak with the Flash, but I do not know what he will be able to do beyond asking Wally’s aunt to come home early. I do not know if I should have even told you what Wally has said to me.”

“Like I give a damn about that right now. There has to be something we can do!”

Kaldur managed a small smile. “Wake up the others. I believe there is something that we can do.”

-

Wally woke up late that morning, his body needed the extra rest to heal and now it needed the extra calories to finish mending the bone in his arm. He rubbed at his eyes and yawned loudly, stopping mid yawn when he came out into the living room. Everyone was still around, that was unusual, but it made Wally grin.

“Good morning, Wally,” Megan beamed at him as he entered the kitchen. “Are you ready for breakfast?”

“Yeah, I’m starving.”

“Good, it’s almost done.” She pressed a quick kiss to his temple and went back to the stove.

Wally’s grin widened. “I’ll set the table.” He reached for the cupboard with the plates, but was quickly moved aside by Conner.

The bigger teen shrugged and grabbed the plates. “I’ll help,” was all he said, looking pointedly at Wally’s broken arm. Then, almost as an afterthought, Conner ruffled his hair affectionately.

Throughout breakfast Wally happily talked without interruption, all of his friends’ attention was squarely on him, even Artemis, who slipped in a few teasing but kind remarks. He sat between Robin and Kaldur, and neither of them shrugged his hand off when he placed it on their shoulders or move their legs when his knees brushed against theirs. Megan happily accepted his hug when he thanked her for breakfast and asked what kind of cookies he wanted her to bake.

There wasn’t much that Wally could do with his broken arm, but Artemis patted the spot next to her on the couch and handed him the remote control to the TV. Wally slowly migrated into Artemis’s space without receiving a single word of protest, not even when they were practically cuddling. And when Kaldur sat down on the other end of the couch, Wally moved over to Kaldur, relieving Artemis of the burden of his weight and long limbs, and transferred himself onto their team leader. Kaldur just rested his hand on Wally’s back and watched TV.

“I’m not your footrest,” Artemis snorted when Wally’s feet ended up on her lap. Despite her words, she made no effort to remove his feet and examined his toenails, which had the remains of nail polish from when Megan gave him a pedicure. “Megan! Bring me some nail polish!”

By the end of the afternoon, Wally had little green arrows painted on each of his toenails on his right foot and little red birds on his left, courtesy of Robin. It didn’t bother him, beyond the observation that Roy would hate the green arrows. All day, his friends were open to his touches and hugs, never resisting or giving him odd looks and he was more than pleased when they initiated it. They were more than willing to listen to him and seemed to be careful in their teasing of him, Robin and Artemis were especially conscious to keep their banter light with Wally. He didn’t mind at all.

As it got later into the evening, both Robin and Artemis had to leave as it was a Sunday night. But Wally stayed behind and helped Megan make dinner to the best of his ability, receiving a kiss on the cheek for his efforts. And when it was well past the time that Wally should have headed home, Kaldur touched Wally’s elbow and asked, “Are you staying overnight?”

Wally rocked back on his heels and hesitated.

“I’ll wake you up early so you can get to school on time,” Kaldur reassured him.

A large grin broke out on Wally’s face. Kaldur didn’t say a word that night as Wally wormed his way into the team leader’s bed, fidgeting until he got into a comfortable position with his hurt arm. The older teen wrapped his arms around Wally, not protesting against the cuddle. Wally pressed his cheek into Kaldur’s broad shoulder and murmured, “Thank you.”

Kaldur just tightened his arms around the speedster, willing to give any bit of affection he had.

\--

Wally was a sponge, soaking up every little bit of extra affection and attention that his friends were willing to give. There were no more looks of confusion or worry, everyone accepted his hugs and returned his touches with their own, and the guys didn’t protest when Wally wormed his way into their rooms in the evening and slept in their beds. And when Black Canary told him that the Flash’s mission had been cut short, Wally enthusiastically threw his arms around her and she hugged him back without a moment of hesitation. The news put Wally in an even better mood and he ran around Mount Justice with excitement, chatting with anyone who would listen about how wonderful his uncle was and how happy he was that he’d see him soon.

Kaldur couldn’t help smiling as Wally talked to Red Tornado, happily clutching the android’s hand as he talked about what he wanted to do with his uncle once he got home. Then Batman arrived to discuss an upcoming mission and Wally switched his attention to the Dark Knight. Wally would usually stand a respectful distance from Batman, but he crowded the other man, though he was careful not to touch him. Kaldur let out a breath of relief when Batman actually put a hand on Wally’s shoulder and then made an offer for Kid Flash to come out to Gotham to go on patrol.

“I didn’t even have to tell him to do that,” Robin said to Kaldur with pride.

With the Flash coming home soon, Wally refused to leave the cave except to go to school and to run patrols around Central City. Kaldur suspected that Wally didn’t want to go home and have his good mood ruined by his parents, but the older teen wisely didn’t comment on it and neither did the rest of the team. 

The day finally came when the Flash returned to Earth. From the Watchtower he went directly to Mount Justice after his debriefing and Kaldur and the rest of the team stood off quietly to the side as they watched uncle and nephew reunite. Wally threw his arms around the Flash and refused to let go, his words coming out a mile a minute and no one could understand him except for his uncle. 

“I’msohappyyou’rehere! Nevergotoouterspaceeveragain!” Wally’s rambling was incomprehensible, but the tone of his voice told them all what he was feeling.

“Missed you too, Kid,” the Flash murmured lowly and his arms tightened around Wally.

There was a certain desperation to the reunion that made Kaldur’s heart ache, but overall he was relieved. He was relieved that Wally would have someone to take care of him on the home front and he was confident that the Flash would know what to do. He had to.

All day the Flash hung out at Mount Justice, listening to what they had been up to since he left. They regaled the speedster with stories of their missions, training, patrols and reassured him that Central City was still standing. Robin was especially adamant about telling the Flash about how Kid Flash could hold his own, how well he did protecting Central City and that he was flawless during their missions. And he carefully left out the fact that a bad guy broke Kid Flash’s arm on his watch.

The Flash’s red cowl was pulled down and Kaldur could see the happiness on Barry Allen’s face over being home and his pride for Wally in his eyes. But Kaldur could also see the lines of worry creasing Barry’s features and he could see the anxious why the older speedster gripped his partner’s shoulder. Black Canary must have told him, he had to know what the team wasn’t discussing with him.

It wasn’t until later into the night did the Flash approach the topic. Most of the team had already fallen asleep in their respective rooms, except Wally, who snuck into Robin’s room to sleep, and Kaldur, who was still awake. The team leader was perched on the couch, the last couple of months turning over in his mind as he reexamined every moment that should have told him that something was wrong, when the older hero came to him. Kaldur knew that this talk had to happen, that it was his responsibility as he was Kid Flash’s leader, but that didn’t mean he wanted to have the conversation. To admit to the Flash his failure to help his teammate and dear friend.

The Flash stepped towards him and Kaldur stood to attention. “My apologies, Flash. There is no excuse for my neglect of Kid Flash,” Kaldur said before even the Flash had a chance to say a word.

Barry’s jaw dropped and clicked shut before opening again to speak. “No, Kaldur, I’m sorry for putting all of you in this situation. For my neglect.”

Kaldur wanted to protest, but the naked regret and grief in Barry’s eyes silenced him on the subject.

“Black Canary was furious when she got a hold of me, I could hardly believe what she was saying, how Mary and Rudy had reacted to Wally being hurt. I’ve always known that Wally and his parents weren’t close, but some families are like that, right? Kids, especially teenagers, don’t always get along with their parents. But I never thought that …” Barry’s gaze left Kaldur’s face and wandered off to look into the distance before snapping back to reality. “What I thought doesn’t matter now.”

“What happens now?” Kaldur asked.

“There’s not much that can be done, I can try to talk to his parents and see if maybe they’ll try to be more considerate of his feelings. They do love him, very much, but they’re just not very good at showing it. The only thing I can do for sure is to make sure he’s not alone again. Make sure that the Garricks, Iris or I are available to him,” Barry answered. “Keep an eye on him for me when he’s here, ok?”

Kaldur nodded. He desperately wished that he could tell Barry Allen that he always had, that he always watched Wally. In many ways he had watched Wally, but obviously not in the right ways and not closely enough. He felt like a bad leader and a bad friend, that he and his team had collectively failed.

“Hey.” A heavy hand rested on Kaldur’s shoulder and the Flash stared at him without any accusations or anger. “None of us knew, Wally’s good at hiding things when he wants to. You couldn’t have known, but now that you do, I know that you’ll help him. I know that you were helping him before you even realized that there was something wrong. And Wally will be fine as long as he has someone to look out for him, both at home and here. I know I can count on you and the team.”

It felt like too little, there had to be more, but Kaldur recognized that there wasn’t. There were only so much that he could do. But if all that he could do was accept and return Wally’s hugs and little touches, to make sure that Wally was adequately praised for a job well done, to accept cuddles on the couch and occasionally have his bed invaded by a speedster, then Kaldur would do it. Not because he had to or because the Flash was asking him to, but because he wanted to. 

“I’ll take care of Wally,” Kaldur promised to both Barry and himself.

\--

Life settled into a comfortable routine once Barry returned home. Wally would go to school and go straight to his uncle’s house, waiting for him to return from work to have dinner and to hang out. Wally would talk about his day, show off his assignments. If it got too late, then he stayed the night in the guestroom. Not long after Barry returned, so did Iris and the Garricks. Days were spent with his beloved aunt and uncle and weekends were spent visiting the Garricks. There were hugs, pats on the head, inquiries about school and friendly banter. His parents were still distant, but were more relaxed once Wally’s affection and attention seeking was focused elsewhere. Wally didn’t mind as much, not while he had other outlets and everything else in his life returned to normal.

Well, not exactly normal.

Suddenly, Wally found that tests he received A’s on were cluttering the refrigerator at Mount Justice. When his feet were bare and vulnerable, Megan or Artemis would seize them and give him a pedicure while talking to him. Cookies and other baked goods were made especially for him by Megan. He received more invitations to Gotham from Robin and sometimes even Batman, especially if the Flash was busy with the Justice League. Black Canary praised him more during training and was always gentle when giving him feedback. Conner never batted an eye when Wally wanted a spontaneous sleepover and just made room for the speedster in the bed. And whenever Wally was at Mount Justice lounging on the couch watching TV or sitting in his room by himself, Kaldur would come to keep him company. A strong shoulder pressed against his own and knees occasionally knocking together.

Wally enjoyed the extra affection, basked in it as it became an important part of his relationship with his friends. 

Then one day, Wally returned from training and saw his aunt and uncle leaving his parents’ house. He tried to talk to them and insist that they stay for dinner. But Iris just pressed a kiss to his forehead and said, “Go talk to your parents.”

Both his mom and dad were waiting for him in the kitchen, sitting at the table. They had expressions boarding on guilt and motioned for Wally to sit with them. He was worried that he was in trouble and then was worried that something bad had happened when his mother touched his hand. The gesture was wildly out of character for his mother and his concern and confusion was evident on his face.

“Wally,” Mary said after a moment of silence, “you know that we love you, right?”

“And that we’re proud of you,” Rudolph added. 

“Even if we don’t say it every day, we really are proud of you and we love you,” Mary reiterated.

Wally blinked. “Oh, um,” he stumbled a bit. “Yeah, yeah, I do. I love you, too.”

Mary then hesitantly pulled him into a hug. It was a bit uncomfortable, nothing like the warmth of Aunt Iris and Uncle Barry’s hugs, the friendliness of Robin’s, the solidness of Conner’s, the kindness of Megan’s, or the fierceness of Roy and Black Canary’s hugs. Instead it was stiff and awkward, and the hug from his dad was even worse and he actually patted Wally on the back halfway through it. But they were hugs from his parents and he would take what they knew how to give. 

The hugs and the statements of love and pride were nice, though far from perfect. The Wests didn’t instantly become a perfect family and Wally found himself going back to Mount Justice despite the fact he had spent most of the day there. The base was mostly empty by the time he got there, making him slump down on the couch in disappointment. Wally could appreciate his parents’ effort, but he wanted to hang out with his friends and indulge in attention and affection that wasn’t forced. 

He straightened up and smiled brightly when Kaldur appeared and sat down next to him. Whenever the team leader sat with him, he always sat close enough so that their arms and legs easily brushed each other. It also gave Wally the option to half crawl into his lap if the occasion called for it. That day though, Wally settled on leaning against Kaldur’s shoulder and flipped through the TV channels, suddenly in a better mood.

“How was your day, Wally?” Kaldur asked him with comfortable ease in his quiet voice, his eyes filled with genuine interest. His body was relaxed against Wally’s and he moved his arm so he could draw the speedster in closer.

It was such a simple gesture, such a simple question, but it meant the world to Wally.


End file.
